AYV News, September 2, 2024

The Ministry of Sports and the National Sports Authority have presented their respective 2025 Financial Year Budgets to Finance Ministry officials at the Ministry of Finance, requiring over Three Hundred and Twenty-Four Million New Leones.

This amount exceeds the NLe121,894,700 ceiling to promote and develop sports for the year 2025.

Speaking prior to the budget presentation, Sports Minister, Augusta James-Teima said sport needs huge budget as its activities can create massive jobs for the youths. She appealed to the Finance Ministry to consider the huge task associated with sports activities.

At the budget presentation desk, National Sports Authority Executive Director, Dr. Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai said the 2025 Budget is anchored on promoting local sports to entice job creation, foster national cohesion and propel infrastructural development.   

He said: “Our FY 2025 budget focuses more on job creation, which is one of government’s Big Five Game-Changers. We are the only sector that has the propensity to employ over 3,000 people within eight months, using the just concluded Sierra Leone Male and female premier leagues as an example”.

In addition to job creation, the sports authority Chief said the Agency is also determined to construct new sports facilities and rehabilitate existing ones across the country.

Presenting on behalf of the Ministry of Sports, Sports Director, Mustapha Haroine Korgie told the meeting that they have drafted six policies that speak to different emerging issues in sports such as gender, ranking, funding among others.

He clarified that the NSA is the technical wing of the Ministry tasked the implementation of all activities relating to sports in the country, describing the relationship between the two institutions as cordial.