By S. Siapha Mulbah
The President of the Liberia Football Association, Mustapha Raji has alarmed that football development in Liberia will be hampered and greatly affected if a decision is passed to have all the national teams of the country withdrawn for continental and other competitions in the name of preparation.
He said, a situation of such will undermine the efforts exerted day by day by sport stakeholders to have a growing game across the country despite the mountain of challenges face in rallying support to sponsor the business.
Speaking at his first media engagement on Wednesday February 5, 2025 in the conference hall of FA, Raji made it clear that withdrawing from international competitions would be a major setback for the country’s football and the likelihood of preparing to comeback will be the greatest challenge in grabbing the attention of the continental or global football governing body.
According to Raji, such a decision would not only halt the progress of the national teams but also diminish opportunities for players to showcase their talent on the global stage.
He simplified that stepping away from international football which mainly include competition under the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the West African Football Union (WAFU), and the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) would be a huge blow to grassroot and national football.
In the chief football administrator’s words, the decision has the potential to stall growth and limit the country’s presence in global football.
“The case of withdrawing the national teams from international competitions as suggested by some fans and others around the stadiums due to dissatisfaction is an impossible decision that will threaten and damage the growth of football in Liberia,” he said.
The head of the local football house also explained that the football in the country is challenged and heavily relies on the funding granted by FIFA as a result of the country presence in the game. “These funds in the FIFA forward programs will be halted if the terms and allotments made in the contract or the agreed objectives are not meet.”
His statement comes in the midst of rousing calls from inpatient fans of the national team due to failure to book at least an African Cup of Nations qualification after many decades.
The fans normally seen with placards bearing different inscriptions during home matches of the national team continue to argue that the age-old problems confronting the Lone Star can be resolved if the different teams are withdrawn to do a complete overhaul of the players and system and come back to the pitch.
Some believe that the players selected for all past matches perhaps do not understand the philosophy of the coaches that are heading the teams because they have not had the indoctrination of their respective tactics and philosophies which can only be done during a rampant revamping process that will cover years.
The fans request and the respond from the president of the football association is now giving out a signal that the issue of support and sponsorship is the biggest problem affecting the performance of the Lone Star, be it in women, men and youth categories.