Nenneh Fofanah
Freetown, 24th August, 2026 – Former Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) President and FIFA Council Member Isha Johansen, through her Football for Reform initiative, has helped secure the release of eight inmates from correctional facilities across the country.
The beneficiaries include both male and female inmates from Bo, Kenema, Kailahun, Waterloo, and Freetown. According to the initiative, the individuals were serving sentences for inability to pay fines ranging from Le100 to Le5,000.
Johansen said her Football for Reform and Fashion for Change initiative uses football, fashion, and arts as tools for social change, youth empowerment, and rehabilitation, with a particular focus on vulnerable young people in correctional centers.
Johansen, who has been supporting inmates through the initiative for several years, said that the goal is to provide inmates with livelihood skills that would help them reintegrate into society and earn a living upon release, reducing the likelihood of reoffending.
Beyond securing their release, she said the program focuses on rehabilitation by equipping inmates with practical skills while they serve their sentences. She said some inmates had obtained a CAF D Football Coaching License, others had been trained in tailoring, sewing, and some had learned bead-making.
She said that the initiative is a self- funded that started five years ago and had successfully secured the freedom of about 30 inmates. She stated that she was inspired upon her first visit with the former Sectary General of FIFA at the Female Correctional Centre and learned that whilst few are criminals, some are just victims of circumstance, “being at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
She revealed that a workshop project, supported by FIFA, built a training center at the correctional Center, a project meant for female inmate to use their tailoring skills in making football training jerseys and bibs.
One of the inmates that were free is David Ansumana from Kailahun – charged with Larceny and was to serve 24 months in prison or pay a NLe2,000 fine. He was freed after serving for over seven months, upon completion of the payment. David explained that he was arrested because his roommate, who worked as a phone mechanic, disappeared with a customer’s phone. He thanked Isha Johansen for giving him a second chance and said he would be using the skills he acquired from prison to rebuild his career.
Another Beneficiary from BO, Martha Mende, who was in prison heavily pregnant with her son, was charged with “obtaining by fraud.” Martha explained that she was wrongly accused of stealing by her sister-in-law, whom she was selling for after her husband had abandoned her. She expressed her gratitude to Johansen for not only paying her Nle5,000 fine, but for helping her with house rent and money.
Doreen Sunnielly, a Former inmate and beneficiary from the initiative, served for 14 months in prison before her release. She encouraged her former inmates not to give up and be hopeful. She urged them to make good use of their second chance, whilst she used herself as an example. Upon her release, Doreen has built a brand (Dee’s Beadiful Designs) from the beading skill she acquired through the initiative. She also revealed that she is now at university.
Johansen also called upon the Sierra Leone Football Association(SLFA) to help give the former inmates a football coaching license. “I would encourage SLFA to engage the female inmates who enrolled in the CAF D license course and successfully obtained the CAF D to offer them the opportunity to put their knowledge and skills into practice,” she appealed.
