By AYV Sports Team
President of the Sierra Leonean Football Association (SLFA) Isha Johansen yesterday 15th March, 2021 returned home from the 43rd CAF General Assembly meeting in Rabat, Morocco with laurels, after being elected into the FIFA Council following a wide-margin triumph.
Johansen defeated Burundian Lydia Nsekera, who had held the position since 2013, by 28 votes to four during the CAF General Assembly held in Rabat. She becomes the first West African woman elected into the council and the first Sierra Leonean to join the 37-person team.
With her victory, the 56-year-old has joined Nigeria’s Amaju Pinnick, Egypt’s Hany Abou Rida, Morocco’s Fouzi Lekjaa, Mali’s Mamoutou Toure and Benin’s Mathurin De Chacus as African representatives in the leadership of the world football governing body.
Before the polls, Johansen, who also doubled as CAF Executive Committee Member, had shared her ambition for the FIFA Council seat.
“I am truly humbled and excited about what the future may have in store for me and my continent in terms of global football governance,” she told the media.
“My desire is to play a role in ensuring that our womenfolk are empowered as a force for good governance and football development.”
Following Johansen’s election into the FIFA Council, she has been immediately replaced as a women’s representative on the CAF Executive Committee by Comorian Kanizat Ibrahim.
