FIFA Suspends Sierra Leone Football Association

World football governing body, FIFA, has suspended a Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) congress pending “integrity” checks related to match-fixing allegations against the national side, as the nation’s football crisis deepens.

Fifteen Sierra Leonean players and officials were suspended in July 2014 over suspect matches including a 2010 World Cup qualifier against South Africa, notably implicating former Leone Stars captain Ibrahim Kargbo.

A Sierra Leonean-Lebanese football administrator, Rodney Michael, is also accused of links to sports betting company Mercury International, a major financier of sports activities in Sierra Leone.

The accusations were due to be investigated by an SLFA-appointed committee headed by the country’s interior minister Palo Conteh.

However, Fifa took over the matters into its own hands, saying the congress cannot go ahead until its own investigators are satisfied with progress.

Fifa secretary general Fatma Samoura wrote a letter to the SLFA dated July 7 saying the meeting should be postponed “until further notice” due to pending “integrity checks” on all current or potential members of the executive committee.