She has been called a prostitute by her peers, manhandled in public and received countless death threats, but Sierra Leone’s football chief Isha Johansen refuses to buckle in pursuit of her goal of developing women’s and girls football across Africa.
One of only two women worldwide to head a football association, Johansen, 53, is nearing the end of a four-year term dogged by the world’s worst Ebola outbreak, political infighting and corruption allegations, and a torrent of misogynist abuse.
Yet the president of Sierra Leone’s Football Association (SLFA) said yesterday that she would stand for re-election as she seeks to clean up football’s image in the west African nation, and inspire more girls and women to get into the
game.
“Many girls dare to dream of making it big in football, but they are scared,” Johansen said.
“I hope to inspire more women and girls to say no to gender discrimination, bullying and sexism in the sport.
“I want to be a pioneer for good governance, gender equality and inclusivity in football, to make a difference in a man’s game.”
Her announcement comes amid a deepening rift between Sierra Leone’s sports ministry and the SLFA against a backdrop of allegations of match-fixing against the national football team.
Fifa said it would send a task-force to Freetown this month to carry out "integrity checks" on members of the country’s football association - having suspended a meeting to pave the way for the SLFA elections until these checks are completed.
“The government, the SLFA and Fifa need to come together to clear the air,” said
Johansen, who was briefly detained last year along with two of her colleagues by Sierra Leone’s anti-graft officials before being released without charge.
“We need to move on from this saga of corruption and mismanagement allegations.
“That is why I want to run for a second term - to build upon the foundations I have put down, and to complete a lot of unfinished business.”
Johansen said some her of proudest achievements during her tenure have been setting up a national women’s football league, and facilitating the training of female coaches and referees.
If re-elected, she plans to get more young girls involved in football at grassroots level, and also playing it in schools.
“With more and more Sierra Leonean women playing football, more and more qualifying as coaches and referees, we have a lot of role models to inspire girls to get involved,” she said.
Alongside her ambitions for the future of football in Sierra Leone, Johansen is braced for the prospect of more abuse - verbal and physical - if she wins a second term as
president.
“I have been called all kinds of vulgar names ... received so many death threats ... but I haven’t entertained such abuse," she said.
“The challenges of being a woman leading in a sport dominated men are many... but they have also given me the strength to forge ahead,
rather than buckle,” Johansen added.
She said perceptions are shifting when it comes to women in football - having been inspired by Fifa’s appointment last year of former Senegalese UN aid worker, Fatma Samoura, as its first female secretary-general.
In an interview in 2015, Johansen said Fifa was not yet ready for a woman as president.
Now, she thinks the time could be nigh.
“There is more of a commitment towards the women’s game in Fifa - and to encourage more women in positions of power,” Johansen said.
“Things are changing quicker than I expected.”