Sierra Leone football team

Seychelles barred Sierra Leone’s soccer team from traveling to the country yesterday, forfeiting an African Cup qualifying game in fear over the deadly Ebola virus which has broken out in West Africa.

The Sierra Leone players and officials were also earlier blocked from boarding a plane in Nairobi, Kenya, en-route to Seychelles capital of Victoria for Saturday’s game.

According to airport authorities in Kenya, they were instructed by Seychelles immigration to prevent the Sierra Leone team from traveling.

As reported by the BBC, Seychelles Football Association president Elvis Chetty said that the decision was for Seychelles FA to forfeit the match.

“I would like to state that the Seychelles FA lays no blame at the feet of the Sierra Leone FA for this. We have taken the decision because of the advice sent to us by the Seychelles Ministry of Health,” the BBC quotes Elvis Chetty.

It’s reported that more than 700 people have died in West Africa from Ebola, with the worst recorded outbreaks occurring in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. One person has also died in Nigeria. The disease has no vaccine and has a 60 percent fatality rate.

Kenya has stepped up border controls against the spread of the Ebola virus.