April 14, 2016 By Sahr Morris Jr.
Sierra Leone male and female handball national teams have been invited by the International Handball Federation (IHF) to compete in the forthcoming IHF Zone II trophy tournament in Conakry, Guinea.
Eight nations: Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Mauritania, host Guinea and Sierra Leone will battle in the five days tournament which will run from 23 to 28 July.
According to secretary general of Sierra Leone Handball Association (SLHA), Alie G. Koroma, all male and female players have already been called for intensive training at the handball playing court by the Swimming Pool gate, at the National Stadium in Freetown.
Both Sierra Leone national teams have over the year failed to perform well in this competition’s previous editions.
In 2008, during the team’s first international outing, they were defeated by their Nigerian counterparts 46-12 goals and in the last match of the preliminary round, the team also suffered in the hands of Ghanaian 44-23 goals.
Both teams also performed poorly during the 2012 tournament which was staged in Dakar, Senegal. The male team suffered 38 -14 goal to then defending champions Mali, while the females played against Guinea Bissau and were also defeated. Both teams suffered defeats again in the second match against Guinea and Senegal respectively.