A look at the Economic impact of hosting Leone Stars’ home matches outside Sierra Leone.

It has been more than five years since Sierra Leoneans last watched the Leone Stars compete on home soil. The country’s only approved football stadium remains under a ban, due to its lack of adequate facilities to host CAF/FIFA-sanctioned matches. In 2021, the Government of Sierra Leone secured a $40 million grant from the Chinese Government for the stadium’s renovation, and construction work commenced in early 2022. However, the national stadium is still not ready for use, and the costs associated with staging home fixtures outside Sierra Leone continue to rise. The expense of hosting Leone Stars’ matches overseas has increased, with traders who once relied on the match-day economy reporting significant losses. Supporters also feel deprived, as they are unable to watch their national team play at home, and some have had to spend considerable amounts to follow the Leone Stars in Liberia. Following a two-day training session with SLAG, BBC Media Action, and BAN on Public Financial Management, I examined the economic impact of hosting Leone Stars’ home matches abroad, with support from the SLAJ EU-funded media project in partnership with BBC Media Action.