By Ibrahim Thoronka (Cavani) in Lunsar
As part of the Marampa Stars FC's parcel for the transfer of Alhassan Koroma (Prof) from Marampa Stars FC to Real Balompedica Linense in Spain, the first gentleman of Marampa Chiefdom P.C Bai Koblo Queen II received the sum of Eleven thousand United States dollars ($ 11,000) as a percentage on behalf Marampa Stars FC. The substantial transfer of the player went on at the end of the 2018-2019 football season when the said player was on loan to East End Lions Football Club.
Why did the transfer percentage reach Marampa Stars in 2024 when the said player left the shores of Sierra Leone to join the Spanish Segunda B side Real Balompedica Linense in the 2019-20 season?
Let's take a nostalgic drive down memory lane. Marampa Stars FC integrated the duo Alhassan and Alusine Koroma (twins) in their 2018 squad, creating massive headlines for the Earnest Bai Koroma Trophy that season. Their tremendous contributions to the team's cumulative performance won the interest of the "Killers" East End Lions Football Club. The leadership of "Lions" lures the signature of the duo on loan, making them an integral part of the unbeaten squad that won the Sierra Leone Premier League in the 2018-2019 league season.
Alhassan Koroma (Alais Prof): Outstanding achievement in that year's championship was something great to write about. Rendering him the most chances as a transfer target for many clubs in the home league. Interestingly, his acceleration, dribbling, assisting, and scoring skills were enough to win the attention of the Spanish Segunda B Football Club Real Balompedica Linense, which was a better option for his parent's club Marampa Stars FC
Alhassan Koroma made his debut at Spanish Segunda B Club on loan in the 2019-20 season and, due to his exceptional performance, was given a permanent contract at the end of the season.
Throughout his tenure with the club, Alhassan Koroma (Prof) played a total of one hundred and six (106) games, scoring fourteen goals (14). In twenty-eight (28) matches, he played full, substituted thirty-one (31) times, and came in as a substitute for forty-four (44) times. Over his four successive seasons with Balompedica Linense, the parent team, Marampa Stars Football Club, still needs to receive a sent as their share for the transfer of Alhassan Koroma. The player is currently trading his professional career for a Qatari Club, Al Shahaniya, joining them in the 2022-2023 league season.
Through these years, the transfer share for Alhassan Koroma has caused many causalities in the chiefdom.
Remarkable among the causalities fuelled by these transfer fees is the 29th April 2020 riot in Lunsar. Apart from the issue of 5G installation, the following key factor that pushed the youths during that unrest was the alleged statement that prominent personalities heading the team had squandered the transfer fees of Alhassan Koroma.
Amb. Abdul Osman Turay, the regional head of football in the Northwest Region, was the then-team manager. Fingers were pointed at him as one key individual who connived with the former CEO of the club, Mr. Idriss Kamara, to symphony the money. This caused the rioters to highlight his residence as the next point of destruction after bringing down the household of P.C Bai Koblo Queen II. He was grateful for the timely intervention of the military personnel, but that should have been another odd story to write about.
During the $ 11,000 presentation to P.C Bai Koblo Queen II by Mr. Alieu Kamara, the brother of Mr. Idriss Kamara, the team's former CEO, in the residence of P.C, Ambassador Abdul Osman Turay expressed his profound thanks and appreciation to God for keeping him and his family alive to witness such a memorable day. "My innocent family and I have faced a lot of opprobrium and embarrassment for this money. I have been called and labeled differently for something I didn't do. What explanations would have been made if those young guys had successfully wiped off my entire family when the money was here? I will relate this story to the rest of my family". He ended.
The vice Chairman of the Port Loko District Football Association (PLDFA), Mr. Alhaji Foday Labay (Papa Lalas), lamented the danger of delay and poor communication. "Now the player is trading his career in Qatar, and according to the initial agreement, Marampa Stars Football Club should receive twenty percent (20%) on every transfer. The question now is, who should we ask to share the club? If I could understand Mr. Kamara's explanations better, the former club CEO has made up his mind to stay off the club, and he does not want to do anything with the club.
In response, Mr. Alieu Kamara reassured all the stakeholders present that there would be a way out to reach the percentage of the team. There is a legal representative who will help fight for it.
The tragic part of the $11,000 saga is that it came when Marampa Stars Football Club was at the helm of relegating to the second division after ending third in the just-concluded Port Loko District male first-division playoffs. What will be the effect of this huge lump sum when the team has gone down the drain? It is reserved for another publication.
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