By S. Siapha Mulbah
After facing a ban from participation in the Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA) Africa programs more than a decade, the greenlight is once more up to give Liberia a chance to rejoin other countries across the continent.
It will be the first time in more than 10 years that Liberia again gets to play at the Zone -3 qualifiers of FIBA U-18 male and female championship that started in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Wednesday July 31, 2024 as a reintroduction of the country’s programs to the continental and the global body of FIBA.
According to sources at the LBA, there is a conclusion of financial transaction between the government of Liberia and the association ongoing to have a team of 37 individuals leaving the country to flag that national colors at the youth showpiece for nearly one week in the neighboring land.
Our sources indicated that the selection of the team and officials have been formalized as paraded on the social and other platforms while the delegation departed early Tuesday morning July 30, 2024 via road transport using the Nimba route.
From the zonal qualifier in Abidjan, the best performing country in both male and female categories will book a slot at 2025 FIBA under-19 male championship and the female junior championship in South Africa.
It can be recalled that since 2013, young Liberians at the national and club level had only been able play basketball domestically because of a FIBA ban that came as a result of leadership crisis that engulfed the game governance body on several issues of accountability, transparency along with the Liberia Basketball Association failure to resolve its own internal issues.
During the ban period, the FIBA and other foreign basketball stakeholders recommended the conduct of a free and fair election at the local basketball house but the then leadership headed by Rufus Anderson failed in 2019.
This situation also prevented national first division champions from getting the needed recognition and participation slots at different events.
It was later in 2023 that officials of the association decided to enforce the conduct of an election among the members of the association bring an end to the regime of Anderson.
