Commentary

By Shannon A. L. Scott
Star Sport Academy, a leading football club in Sierra Leone on Saturday 9th August 2025 officially launched a partnership with Luminix Energy Solutions at the Sierra Leone Football Academy Secretariat at Kingtom in Freetown.
The CEO of Luminix Energy Solutions Madam Salwa Campbell said that the partnership with Star Sport Academy is a moment beyond history. A moment of people, progress, and collective responsibility's strength.

“At Luminix Energy Solutions, our objective has always been simple but ambitious. To energize progress and power the people. We believe that reliable clean energy is the foundation of education, enterprise, and opportunity.

However, powering advancement is more than electrifying residences or powering business.
It is about empowering people and communities to be everything they possibly can. Today we reaffirm this commitment by handing over a 30-seater bus and 25 portable solar generators to Star Sport Academy.

But this is not a handout, but an investment in talent, opportunity, and the future of Sierra Leone” she averred.
She said Sport and energy share a commonality, both igniting potential. Just as the sun powers our solar solutions, football powers discipline, teamwork, and ambition.

According to her, the 30-seater bus symbolizes mobility, breaking down barriers for young athletes to compete and excel. The solar generators symbolize sustainability, powering all our devices charged, safe, clean, etc.
Madam Salwa Campbell said solar projects light up households and businesses, but collaborations like this one light up bridges.

“When you see the name of Luminix on that bus, let that be a reminder that renewable energy and sports are twin drivers of change” the CEO said.
Chairman of Star Sport Academy Ing. Yankuba J. Tarawally explained that the Academy was registered with the target group being developing youths aged between 12 to 17 and gave them a platform to expose their skills at a professional level outside this country.

“Accordingly, when we registered the academy, we formed three groups, the under-12 group, the under-15 group and the under-17 group.
In completing the step up from under-17 to under-15 as essential for the players to develop in the European market, we decided to participate in a series of activities as an academy” he disclosed.

He said their mandate is rooted in ensuring that the academy provide an essential platform for their professional development.
“We have been part of some activities in relation to education for our boys. We have had several clubhouses in Freetown alone, and we have been able to establish a branch in Kenema by hosting some rallies as well” he said.

He also added that they have acquired 10-acre land at Songo, where they will construct a new field, and other facilities that will be of international standard.
“We were able to purchase a fleet of vehicles, which we intend to deploy to transportation in order to generate sustainable income for this academy. And also, we have been able to prepare and bring standard kits for the academy” he concluded.

The Chairman of the National Sports Authority, Dr. Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai Esq., thanked the two sides for a job well done. "Football investment is no child's play. It's giving the youth an alternative to drugs and crime. Luminix's sponsorship is a hat-trick for the sport, the youth, and the nation," he said.
He also outlined plans for a sports basket fund to reduce over-reliance on government funding, appealing for unity among football stakeholders to build strong foundations for long-term success.

The occasion ended with the symbolic ribbon cutting and signing of the sponsorship agreement, sealing a relationship both sides hope will deliver silverware on and off the pitch.