LFA: we don’t operate covertly, terms Daily Observe agent provocateur



LFA Press Release

The Liberia Football Association says its operations are opened and transparent, never covert or clandestine and that it has never enter into an apparel deal as being insinuated by the Daily Observer Newspaper.

In its Thursday February 2, 2012 edition (sports page), the Daily Observer newspaper accused the LFA of being in a “Covert Deal with Italian Firm” in relation to apparel used by the senior national team of Liberia.

The LFA says the paper (by and through its reporter Leroy Sonpon) has constantly struggled to slander the good and long standing image of the LFA. This noxious manner has, more or less, likened the paper to an agent provocateur.

You may recall in the closing portion of 2011, the paper maliciously accused the LFA of bribery ahead of the Liberia, Mali Nations cup qualifier in Monrovia in December. The paper, with reasons known to the management, is on record of pulling down unsubstantiated allegations on the LFA.

On the story at bay, the LFA vehemently detests allegation that its arrangement with errea is covert. Firstly, the arrangement with errea is not on the basis on financial contract per se. The LFA could not inter into a deal with errea that, in its wisdom, is not in interest of the future of the country.

Based on the failure of the LFA and errea to reach a sponsorship deal, the LFA took the accepted serve as a dealer of errear’s apparels in Monrovia and beyond. In return, the national team gets jerseys for its games.
Of course, the errea emblem, like all products we wear around here, is engraved of the shirts.

How could a recognized newspaper as big as the Daily Observer call this a covert when the national team’s matches are witnessed both locally, and internationally? Didn’t the world see the national team play in Zimbabwe (where she first wore the brand)? What about the home match against Mali last December?

The replica shirt (fan jerseys) are on sale in stores in Monrovia and is being advertised on the LFA site; covert?
Secondly, Executive Committee members of the LFA are indeed aware that there exists no deal with errea. The statue is clear that arrangements of such gravity can only be approved by the Executive Committee.

The LFA is indeed in pursuit of a sponsorship deal for the national team, but none has been consummated against the Observer’s provocative story line has put it.

Also for confirmation, the above information has always been in the public province, the president was even hosted live by the Catholic run radio Veritas last Saturday, at which time the same issue was raised and addressed.

So, a lazy reporter who fails to fetch the news should not accuse the LFA of operating covertly. The Daily Observer and the LFA are in touching distances, making it easier for their reporter to seek information at all times.

Additionally, the Observer reporter attended the most recent LFA Monthly press briefing, why didn’t he raise the issue if he was in doubts? Instead, he asked the LFA president at the conference why the LFA didn’t host a Christmas party for sports journalists as done by the Nigerian FA.

According to the Observer, national team coach Roberto Landi told journalists to contact the LFA for the detail on the apparel arrangement, the Observer rather chose to ask some executive committee members, who it said “remained tightlipped, while others spoke on condition of anonymity revealed that they were only aware of [on] the surface of the deal”.

Assuming this is true, why the Observer didn’t contact the information arm of the LFA-news gathering 101.

Ignorantly (or maliciously), the Observer reported in the story “the T-shirts, practice kits and equipment bearing errea and LFA emblems, have been seen on many occasions in use by the national teams of Liberia during leagues, off-season leagues and the just ended 2011/2012 National county meet, which brought to the fore about 60 teams from the 15 political sub-divisions”.

Liberia first wore the apparel in October away to Zimbabwe and then in December at home to Mali (all in 2011). Individuals who have copies are also wearing them in Monrovia.

However, what does the Observer refer to as leagues, national teams or county meet? Well, the national team (not teams) didn’t participate in the gone county meet.