Sierra Leone moves towards professionalisation with 36 semi-pro contracts to be offered
Move marks latest expansion of cricket in West Africa
Cricket Sierra Leone (CSL) is to offer 36 semi-professional contracts across the men’s and women’s players for the next 10 months.
The West African nation, whose women’s team are ranked 41st in the world, are just the latest in a string of associate teams to offer contracts through the benefits of ICC and Olympic funding.
The players selected for contract status will be decided by the national coaching setups. Contracted players will also be expected to aid in development programs through school visits and talent identification.
The men’s team will compete in the African Sub-Regional Qualifier A in May as part of the qualification structure for the 2028 T20 World Cup, they will face tough opposition in Kenya, Botswana, Rwanda and Mali. The team were one win away from making the African Regional Finals in 2024, losing out to Botswana.
Before that the Women’s U19 side will head to Kampala, Uganda. A 17-player provisional squad has been named to compete in the Division Two qualifier where they will be confident of securing one of the two qualification spots on offer.
The senior women’s side finished winless at their Regional Finals in 2025, having progressed from Division Two after finishing in second place.
CSL have been moving rapidly to expand the game’s presence in schools, running a training programs for 400 PE in 2025, the board say they are looking to expand that number to 1,000 for the coming year. Targets have been mapped out for the year to engage 100,000 youth participants in 2026 across schools and communities.
The centrepiece of this expansion is to be the FBC cricket ground, currently under construction. The ground is set to feature international standard ovals, with two of these set for completion in 2027. Indoor facilities, a pavilion and dressing rooms are also planned in order for Sierra Leone to resume hosting ICC events, which it has not done in over twenty years.
“We will construct a cricket academy on it and state of the art indoor training facilities.” said CSL Chairman Francis Samura, speaking to Emerging Cricket last year.
We also intend to build around 40 outdoor cricket nets, so that the entire facility will be capable of hosting any ICC event, apart from World Cups.”
“The completed project will boost and transform Sierra Leone cricket, because conference halls, rooms for workshops, seminars and events will also be available. We can then use the proceeds from this investment to maintain the facilities and reinvest back into domestic cricket.”