Division One's Freetown United have been renamed Freetown City Football Club

By Mohamed Fajah Barrie BBC Sport, Freetown

A number of clubs in Sierra Leone are changing hands and names in a bid to improve their status and the game in a country that is desperate to improve its footballing image.

Many Sierra Leonean clubs have been in a poor state for some time, largely due to a lack of funds to manage the clubs.

Now Mount Aureol, from the country's top division Premier League and two teams in the second tier Division One, Freetown United FC and Easton Rangers FC, have been bought over.

Mount Aureol - who have been renamed Mount Aureol Galaxy - have been taken over by a group of US investors, based in Los Angeles, who include a US citizen of Sierra Leonean origin.

Freetown United have been taken over by the Freetown City Council (FCC) for a token amount believed to be around US$10,000, to be paid in instalments.

It has been renamed Freetown City Football Club (FCFC).

Easton Rangers have been bought for an undisclosed fee by a former Turkish footballer turned businessman Turker Albayrak. He has renamed the club NTL - the initials of his three children.

The taking over of these clubs is expected to help improve the Premier League and Division One overall.

I'm happy about [the takeover of Freetown United] because it was really a burden for me as I was spending all my time and money on the club Freetown manager Abdulai Garringha Sesay

"We'll try to get in a foreign coach and foreign players to build up our club and we will travel to other countries to engage foreign clubs for pre-season training," he said.

"Freetown is twinned to the city of Hull in the UK and recently I visited there and I spoke of my intention for the FCC to get a club and they agreed to help us with technical assistance for a start.

"I am sure FCFC is going to benefit a lot from the English Premier League club Hull City FC and this will help improve the game in the Sierra Leone."

The other two clubs have similar plans to bring in foreign managers and players as well as to engage in pre-season trips.

The manager of the former Freetown United FC, Abdulai Garringha Sesay, who for the moment has been maintained as coach of FCFC, is delighted at the takeover of his club.

"I'm happy about it because it was really a burden for me as I was spending all my time and money on the club," he said.

"We were not running the club properly due to a lack of money.

"Players were not being paid salaries and we were just managing to survive. It was really tough.

"So it's a big relief for me personally."

Similar sentiments were expressed by officials of the other two clubs, as they were facing the same situation.

The administrative secretary of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) Abu Bakarr Kabba has welcomed the development.

Mohamed Kallon bought the Sierra Fisheries club and renamed it Kallon FC

"It's good for the development of our game."

It all comes at a time when the SLFA has set up a Premier league board for the first time to run the domestic game's top division.

It is not the first wave of club buy-outs, however.

Over the past seven years, other clubs have changed hands and have yielded dividends as a result.

Sierra Leone star striker Mohamed Kallon bought over the Sierra Fisheries club in 2001 and renamed it Kallon FC.

Since then they have been among the best clubs in the country.

They were champions in 2006 and represented the country in the African Champions league in 2007, before being knocked out in the second round by Ivory Coast's Asec Mimosas.

Cenegal FC were also bought over two years ago and renamed Central Parade.

They immediately made their presence felt, finishing runners-up in the country's FA Cup in the same year. They also finished fourth in last season's Premier League.

So, the three recently renamed clubs will be hoping to draw on their compatriots' previous successes and pose a challenge domestically and beyond.

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