By S. Siapha MulbahDuring the weekend, Margibi County welcomed the national kickball playoff of the 2022 edition which begun Saturday, September 24 to Sunday, October 2, emass the President of the Federation has said.
Emmanuel Surprise Whea said a record crowd was seeing gathering on the main streets of Kakata City which witnessed the opening ceremony of this year national playoff that begun with a grand parade.
He described the turned up as an unprecedented that motivated the participating teams to monster the courage and maintain a pace of good sportsmanship as the competition opened.
Whea attributed the locals gathering at the Booker T. Washington Institute (BWI) to what many would call a “loyalty to the nation’s traditional sports” despite the daunting challenges faced in the sectors of Liberian sports.
“Margibi County is alive and the turn-up of the residents to witness the opening and other activities of this edition of the kickball playoff is overwhelming,” he said.
With the number of persons along the street to welcome the over 400 delegates for the competition, Whea added they were indeed glad that there are people still with them in the promotion and development of kickball.
The federation’s president noted that response from Margibians shows that there is a prospect for the sport and more ownership would mean a forward match for the number one female sport in the country.
Speaking minutes after the formal launch of the major kickball festival,
Surprise Whea reiterated that there is a need for Liberians to consider kickball as their traditional to pay more attention to its development.
He added that the athletes and their various clubs becomes challenge all through the national and local competition when it comes to finance, logistic and important operational materials to give flavor to the league.
“There is one major problem that nearly all clubs are faced with and this runs even up to the federations’ level. We need support for our teams so that they can be able to help create more empowerment for our women,” Whea intimated.
Disappointingly he said, “There are teams from as far as Grand Gedeh and other counties that are here to honor the playoff. Some of them are into very huge expenses above what could be in the awards for the winner.”
Ahead of the 2022/23 National County Sports Meet, the kickball playoff could be used a medium for county sport authorities to spot and invite competent player for the Kickball category through the show of talent that will be demonstrated during the event.
