By Ishmael Zay-Bangura
Freetown, 30th March 2026- In a landmark Annual General Meeting that underscored both achievement and ambition, Sierra Leone’s cricket leadership painted a picture of unprecedented growth while laying out an ambitious vision for the sport’s future.
The gathering brought together key stakeholders from the National Sports Authority, the Ministry of Sports, and the broader cricketing community to review a year that saw the nation’s cricket program reach historic heights.
The association reported that Sierra Leone participated in six international tournaments in 2025 a feat never before accomplished in the 84-year history of the organisation. This represented a significant investment of approximately $270,000 USD in international competition.
The women’s national team enjoyed a particularly remarkable year, playing 20 T20 international matches across four different tournaments under the leadership of Diana Williams as team manager and Captain Aminata Kamara. Never before had a Sierra Leonean women’s team competed in such a volume of international fixtures.
Individual accolades followed, with Captain Aminata Kamara earning Player of the Series honours in tournaments. She joined Ibrahim Gabian as the only players to win back-to-back Player of the Tournament awards in ICC-organised competitions.
Development programmes reached over 78,000 school children across 279 schools nationwide. The beach cricket festival at Number 2 Beach on the Freetown Peninsula attracted over 1,100 schoolchildren, while a nationwide coaching initiative trained 1,025 participants—a number exceeded only by South Africa and Zimbabwe across the continent.
The association commissioned a comprehensive review of its financial systems by a renowned accounting firm at a cost of nearly 100,000 Leones. The board has committed to full implementation of the recommendations to strengthen financial governance and ensure accountability.
A stakeholders’ engagement meeting established a dispute resolution mechanism designed to provide fair processes for resolving challenges against decisions made by disciplinary committees, selection panels, and electoral bodies.
Work continued on the Freetown and Sussex cricket projects, representing what the Board chairman Francis Trevor Samura described as “the first major infrastructure development undertaken by any executive management committee in the association’s history. The projects include additional office space at the headquarters to accommodate the growing operations of the organisation.”
The association announced a major sponsorship agreement for the upcoming Premier Cricket League, allocating 49 percent of the 2025 budget to development programmes across facilities and capacity building.
The ministry of sports representative Alhaji korgie emphasised the importance of governance compliance, announcing that all sports associations must renew their licenses in 2026. The cricket association was commended for its adherence to governance criteria.
“The unrenewed is a governance mechanism designed purely to check governance status of all sports organisations operating in the country,” the representative stated, calling on all federations to complete their renewal process without delay.
The chairman Samura concluded by honouring the memory of several figures who contributed to the development of cricket in Sierra Leone, including Dr. Monty Jones, whose intervention helped secure playing facilities during a critical period for the sport.
“Let us put aside differences, focus on the bigger picture, and build a stronger, sustainable sporting system that will make our nation proud,” he said.
The AGM proceeded with the adoption of the annual financial statements and development reports, setting the stage for what promises to be another significant year for Sierra Leone cricket.
