DEWAH Fabrice TEH
Sports Writer, Kick442.Com- Cameroon
Players of the Sierra Leonean national football team, Leone Stars have received a huge moral motivation from its president ahead of their last qualifiers to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations against Benin Republic.
President Julius Maada Bio has promised each player of the Leone Stars squad a sum of 100 Million Leones (About 10.000 US Dollars) and a plot of land if they succeed to beat the Squirrels of Benin in Freetown on Tuesday in their final group L clash and pick a first AFCON ticket after 25 years of absence
Sierra Leone led by former national team midfielder John Keister will need at least a convincing win to out-position Benin currently ranked 2nd and tallying 7 points gathered through 2 wins and a draw in five games.
The Leone Stars are still to pick a win in the ongoing qualifiers, having picked 4 draws and a defeat including a moral boasting 4-4 comeback draw against Nigeria in Benin City in 2020.
They will be looking forward for their first qualification to the Africa Cup of Nations closed to three decades. The team last participated in the AFCON in 1996 when South Africa hosted and won the first ever 16 nation edition of the competition and ended at the group phase after finishing 3rd with 3points in a group B made up of Zambia, Algeria and Burkina Faso.
Benin led go its automatic qualification ticket after conceding a stoppage time goal last Friday against the Super Eagles of Nigeria to lose 1 nil at home. They will be in search of their 7th ever qualification to the Africa’s premiere football festival.
