(CNN) -- "Blood, sweat, and tears" on the football pitch used to mean a very different thing in Sierra Leone. In a country where Ebola is spreading faster than anywhere else on the planet -- with around 7,000 reported cases so far -- each droplet of bodily fluid evokes suspicion. Here, even a post-match handshake is an uneasy encounter. In this fearful new climate, football has been banned. And to sports-obsessed Sierra Leoneans, the embargo is tantamount to forbidding God. "Football is like a second religion in Sierra Leone," explained the country's Football Association president Isha Johansen. "Bearing in mind this is a poor country, you would have situations where people would rather go without food, just so they could buy tickets to a big football match."
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Sierra Leoneans' love affair with football hit by Ebola
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Games canceled, watching in public spaces stopped
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People must 'reprogram' themselves not to touch
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Psychological effects on naturally 'touchy, feely' community
Coming from Sierra Leone, @placeholder knows full well what it's like having to "beg to play in other countries."