The President of SKNFA defended the appointment of Coach Ahmed Mohamed
St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) has defended the appointment of embattled coach Ahmed Mohamed as director of football for the SKNFA.
There is growing unease in St. Kitts and Nevis over the appointment of Ahmed Mohamed following reports of an investigation that has been launched into sexual assault allegations made against him.
According to an article published by The Guardian Newspaper in the United Kingdom, FIFA is requesting further details about the SKNFA's appointment of Mohamed. He has been accused of sexually abusing and harassing female players in Barbados.
Mohamed, who has managed football teams in Barbados and The British Virgin Islands, was appointed by Atiba Harris-the president of the SKNFA-in September.
Mohamed left his post in Barbados after 27 players from the senior women's team signed a letter urging the Barbados Football Association (BFA) to investigate claims made by one teammate.
According to the article, A female player claims that Mohamed raped her at a hotel when she was 18, and she previously received unwelcomed text messages from him.
The player also claimed that senior BFA members threatened her after reporting Mohamed to the police.
The article also reported that another player later stepped forward with rape allegations against Mohamed.
She alleges that Mohamed sexually abused her over three years, starting with 13.
An online petition has since been launched demanding that a thorough investigation be carried out immediately.
The article has raised eyebrows in St Kitts and Nevis, with much-expressing concern about the character of Mohamed.
However, the SKNFA, in a statement on Friday, February 4th 2022, said, "FIFA has not contacted the association to investigate any of the allegations contained in the article."
The statement also said that "the SKNFA was and remains fully satisfied that Mr Mohamed is of good character and that the allegations made against him were false," adding that Mr Mohamed "has the technical ability to perform his functions to take the SKNFA football to higher levels.
The SKNFA said that they believe that the allegations made against Mohamed were "maliciously contrived by a certain faction of people who wish to tarnish the good name of the Association."
The SKNFA also stated that "before hiring Mr Mohamed as the SKNFA's Director of Football, the SKNFA conducted a serious and fulsome due diligence exercise
involving consultations with members of the Barbados Football Association, CONCACAF and other persons who knew Mr Mohamed personally."
However, in a statement on Friday, February 4th, CONCACAF said it was surprised and concerned by the SKNFA's report claiming that the organisation was consulted about the hiring process of Mohamed.
CONCACAF said, "we want to unequivocally reaffirm and stress, as we have done in recent days, that no one in the CONCACAF administration was or has been consulted about the engagement of Mr Mohamed with the SKNFA."
It said that the "CONCACAF take the allegations against Mr Mohamed exceptionally seriously.
Harris has also defended the appointment of Mohamed, saying that the SKNFA did due diligence regarding Mohamed.
Speaking on local radio station Freedom FM, Harris said that he "personally reached out to the president of the CFU, Randy Harris, who is also the vice president of CONCACAF and FIFA.
Coach Ahmed Mohamed
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