The odds he could beat. Ebola was a different matter

Irishman Johnny McKinstry oversaw Sierra Leone’s rise to a top 50 place on Fifa’s rankings, despite Ebola ravaging the country. Then he was fired.

In July, Sierra Leone’s national football team were unbeaten in four games. The timing couldn’t have been better. Immersed in preliminary round action, they were desperately trying to get through to the next stage of qualification for the 2015 African Cup of Nations. They had pushed past Swaziland over two legs, then claimed a victory over Seychelles and were just another 90 minutes away from securing a place in the group stage qualifiers.

Then Ebola happened.