Several decisions were made, including the overwhelming passage of a US$6.4 million budget at the Liberia Football Association (LFA) 27th ordinary congress.
A number of executive committee’s proposals were also approved and or corrected which included the cancellation of the registration of all clubs playing in the LFA national leagues to ease the financial burden on clubs.
Congress approved the admission of up to six beach soccer clubs as provisional members for a period of one year prior to their full membership with all associated rights at the next ordinary congress.
This is to ensure that beach soccer clubs are integrated into the complete and actual body of football administration and decision-making.
The inclusion of the National Players Association and Sports Medics Association as provisional members was approved in order to include more of the football family in the mainstream of footballing activities.
Four football regions—north western, north central, south eastern and south central—were approved.
The regions will elect their representatives, who will serve a four-year term.
Nine club members including, Samira FC, Paynesville FC, Sinoe NPA, Shaita Angels FC, Ravia Angels FC, JUST FC, LEAD MFA, Senior Female Professionals, and Bassa Girls FC were officially admitted as members of Congress.
Meanwhile, the congress held at its newly-built headquarters in the Swankamore community in Congo Town on May 13, 2023, LFA’s president Mustapha Raji said it was a historic moment for the congress to be held at its own headquarters.
Raji once more praised FIFA, previous presidents, executive committee members and everyone, who worked toward the completion of the headquarters.
“We also like to stress the need for more support for national teams’ programs. The national teams’ support is not just with the under-20, women’s senior team, and men’s senior team,” he expressed.
“The national team’s support required by the football association comes from the under-15, under-17 and under-20 boys and girls. We believe that with investment in grassroots football, we can continue to strengthen football in Liberia.
“Without the support of the government, we are going to face difficulties as a football association. We are calling upon you and all other government authorities to join hands with the football and other sporting federations to bring down partners and sponsors that can sit at the table with us to reinvest in our football,” Raji explained.
He also thanked the sponsors, including Orange Liberia, Doxxbet, Acqualife and “those who believe in our ideology and the level of transparency we have demonstrated in terms of the utilization of their funds. We want to encourage these sponsors to continue to invest in our football.”
Highlighting some of the accomplishments made possible by the FIFA Forward Program, Raji mentioned the recent distribution of football equipment to clubs, the rise in women’s football competitions, and other technical, infrastructure, and good governance programs.
