Amidst growing criticism and protestations by sport pundits calling for the resignation of the Liberia Football Association boss, Mustapha I Raji, as a result of the National Team’s poor performance, and other issues, an Executive Committee member of the Liberia Football Association, Murvee Gray, has abolished the claim as poor propaganda that is intended to distract the workings of the local football house.
The Liberia Football body, under the leadership of Mustapha Raji, has been engulfed with series of protestations by people believed to be stakeholders of Liberian Football. Many of them are of the conviction that the failure of the Senior National Team to progress in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Competitions is associated with the LFA boss, who lacks the will to deliver the Lone Star from the nightmare of not qualifying for the African Cup of Nations and the World Cup.
Gray, who is also former Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports, has dismissed the notion that the LFA boss and his executives are responsible for the sub-par performances of the Senior National Team, as his primary responsibility is to play a managerial role while the National Government takes full responsibility and ownership, as is done around the world, something he said is backwards in Liberia.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with journalists at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia, EC Gray added that the National Team is owned by the Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Youth Sports, who shoulder the financial issues and they as LFA provide the managerial skills as caretakers, with financial support from government, but for others to think and run with false claims and accusations, for which they cannot provide any proof, are just meant to create false impression and poor propaganda for would-be individuals desirous of becoming LFA president.
He said that the LFA is open to everyone who wants to be president if the person meets the necessary requirements and standards, but going to the public to provide false and misleading information on the character of whom he called a respected young man in African Football, is wrong.
“So, those who are making false claims that the LFA president should be held liable for the National Team’s poor performance should tell the public how much government has given to Liberia Football. If you go to other countries, you will realize that Liberia is far behind other countries in terms of support to the National Team,” EC Gray noted.
He said, even though the LFA Boss and his Executive Committee Members solicited funds to shoulder the financial backing while the team was in Morocco, unfortunately, the match could not be played due to the country’s disaster, and upon returning to play the rescheduled match, it was the same LFA president that provided funding for the players and technical staff, adding, “With all of the challenges undertaken by the LFA Boss then, why would someone say Mustapha Raji is responsible for the National Team’s poor performance?”
However, the LFA Executive Committee member mentioned that there are factors surrounding the poor performance of the Senior National Team, and if these issues are not addressed and taken as priorities, the country would experience the same thing under any leadership.
“Because there are not many players in top competitions outside Liberia like other countries, there are no sustainable programs sponsored by the National Government like U-15, 17, and 20 teams, and if these factors are not amicably addressed by financial backing, there will always be a poor performance from our players and the LFA Boss will not be responsible for the underperformance of those players,” he added.
