International Women's Day 2021 - Celebrating Africa's Iron Lady of football, Isha Johansen of Sierra Leone

Today Africa, March 4th 2021 Africa Sports Ventures Group and the rest of the world celebrates a woman defying all odds to play equally with men in the minefield known as football administration, Isha Johansen. Born in Freetown, Sierra Leone as Isha Tejan-Cole on December 25, 1964, hers became a journey paved for history books of sports in Africa and the world. Referred to in some quarters as the iron lady of African football, Johansen is the president of the Sierra Leone Football Association. Johansen is currently the only woman in the continent to hold such a post. She is the founder, owner and Chief Executive Officer of F.C Johansen, a team currently playing in the Sierra Leone national Premier League. ​

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The SLFA president has over the years become a force to reckon with in international football, so much that at one point when Sepp Blatter was forced to step down, she was counted among possible successors. She is the first woman to serve on FIFA's Security and Integrity Committee. Johansen is also a member of the Committee of Women’s Football and Women’s World Cup at football’s world governing body FIFA. She also heads the Organizing Committee for Women's Football at CAF. Johansen has been instrumental in accelerating the implementation of measures to promote women's football in her country. In what became a massive milestone for women football in Africa, the Sierra Leonean government and the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) moved to have both the men’s and women’s teams receiving equal pay. The SLFA president is also a proponent of women empowerment and is the brains behind Power Play Africa, an initiative to empower women and girls in Africa through participation in football. ASVG, Africa and the world salutes you Isha. #choosetochallenge #ASVGcelebrateswomenexcellence #InternationalWomensDay/8March2021

By Editor