Two stupendous football scores raise questions in Sierra Leone

Liberia (whose president, George Weah, was Africa’s first recipient of football’s most prestigious award), Sierra Leone is not known for its footballing talent. But it would take an extraordinarily inept goalkeeper to concede more than one goal every minute. Yet that is what allegedly happened on July 3rd, when Gulf and Kahunla Rangers reported respective victories by 91-1 and 95-0 in league games. The only larger margin recorded in world football was 149-0 in 2002, when players from a Madagascan team repeatedly kicked the ball in their own net in protest at poor refereeing. Football fans in Freetown, the capital, are outraged. “The over 180 goals are a national disgrace,” says Mohamed Kallokoh. “Our country is not serious about fair play.” The Sierra Leone Football Association () said the results were “impractical” and that it would investigate.