August 25, 2017 By Sahr Morris Jnr
Sierra Leone athletes during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Glasgow
Sierra Leonean athletes will soon benefit from Olympic Solidarity scholarship after the Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone (NOC-SLE); Joseph Nyande, confirmed they are working towards that.
The NOC-SLE scribe in Wednesday’s meeting with Sporting Associations disclosed that the Olympic Committee will soon request for associations to submit entries for the Solidarity Scholarships for athletes.
In an exclusive interview with Concord Sports, Nyande said: “The Olympic Solidarity scholarship will cut across all the sporting disciplines and it would purely be for athletes those athletes, who are on the data base of their international associations with good timing.
“We have already made it clear to all associations that the scholarship is not for those athletes who have run-away during international games.”
According to International Olympic Committee (IOC), any athlete receiving scholarship can benefit from funding for items such as access to adequate training facilities, specialised coach in his discipline, regular medical and scientific assistance, accident and illness insurance, board and lodging costs and travel to Olympic qualification competitions.
In February 2015, the international Olympic Committee (IOC), through its Solidarity Fund, provided scholarships for two Sierra Leonean USA based athletes; Catharine Hudor and Afsatu Koroma. The scholarship covered the athletes training and personal expenses.
Also in September 2016, the NOC-SLE Administrative Secretary, Alie Gibril Koroma, confirmed that they have awarded International coaching scholarship to three coaches; Bobson Mansaray of swimming association, Beach Volleyball coach Sorie Kamara and Mohamed Turay of Boxing.