In Lone Star's final Group One 2006 World Cup qualifier against Zambia in Monrovia, the East Africans had a goal-feast, overcoming Liberia 5-0. The massive home loss was followed by another misadventure, losing to the Eagles of Togo, in yet another World Cup tie.

The Togo encounter exposed what was described by a government minister as, "budgetary constraints," meaning lack of money for the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the football association to carry on their assignment. The two bodies desperately sought financial assistance from the private sector to honor the match.

It is reasonable that pressing national issues should be tackled first before considering other less important disciplines, which should suggest that we must have the foresight to determine our financial strength from the outset before committing ourselves to participate in games. It is counter-productive to prepare for a tournament and only to be told that "budgetary constraints" make it unfeasible for our teams to take their stand against their opponents.

Then there are the premier clubs, who are chosen as representatives of the nation in sub-regional and continental engagements. To date, Liberia has had no teams contesting in the African Clubs Championships, Winners Cup and regional WAFU competitions. Though club teams have always qualified at the end of the regular soccer season, the same monster, "budgetary constraints", has been the undoing of their hopes.

So now, from the national team to the various clubs, Liberians have become bystanders watching other nations and their club representatives participate in those games. True, the 14 years of war ensured that we lost everything that was dear to us. Those years rendered the nation itself static and at the time of this writing, national leaders are still struggling to find the financial means to rebuild basic life's necessities. It is also true that basic necessities like safe drinking water, electricity, among others, should be prioritized; one cannot overlook the importance of using sports as an important means to help the rebuilding process.

When the Zambians defeated the national team 5-0, the game was played to an almost empty stadium, since in a previous match the home team's loss resulted into violence. Well, when a team fails to prepare adequately for an impending match and a false impression is given that all is well, and expectations fail otherwise, emotions run high and the result is violent behavior. This simply tells us that there must be a way around "budgetary constraints" so that our teams can prepare adequately to meet the expectations of the soccer fans sports administrators.

Now that we have regained our sense of direction as a nation, it is time we examine every aspect of the game: from the day we decide to engage in any competition to the day the team leaves for the competition. We must accept the fact that we are starting everything afresh; we must begin from the beginning. Our sports leaders should be able to improve on the mistakes for our failures in participating in Germany/Egypt World Cup and Nations' Cup qualifying series. If we are able to isolate what might be described as intentional and inadvertent policy mistakes in those preliminary games, we will stand a better chance of making improved decisions affecting our national team and the clubs. The national team and the clubs will then regain new perspectives and the road ahead would be smooth sailing, albeit occasional challenges.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Liberia Football Association should work together to create an effective avenue of cooperation. At the same time, a way must be found for the business community to participate in their programs, since their financial support is important in this endeavor.

The forthcoming LFA Congress should be used to explore avenues to improve the financial health of the clubs. The Congress must provide the room for participants to brainstorm suggestions for a better soccer program.

Also important is the feedback from soccer fans. Since the fans are the patrons of the clubs, they may have ideas that could contribute to the improvement of the game. Their opinions must be examined and considered.