Lone
Star Going To Togo By Road
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By Julu M. Johnson, Jr. in Monrovia
The national soccer team of Liberia Lone Star is confirmed to be going
to honor its final away match of the 2006 joint Nations Cup and World
Cup qualifiers against the Hawks of Togo in Lome on Sunday, September
4, 2005.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports said that it has US$13,700.00
(US$3,700 coming from the Lone Star Fund Raising Committee) in its
possession while the Liberia Football Association (LFA) has decided to
augment the money by an undisclosed amount.
The Sports Ministry had earlier announced the withdrawal of the
national team on Tuesday via a communication from Sports Minister
Wheatonia Y. Dixon-Barnes to the president of the LFA, Cllr. S. Izetta
Wesley.
The letter read: “Pursuant to tireless efforts being made to secure
funding for Lone Star’s continued participation in the 2006 World
Cup/African Cup of Nations Competitions, I have the unpleasant duty to
inform you that the National Transitional Government of Liberia is
herewith withdrawing the Liberia National Football Team, The Lone
Star, from the two (2) remaining matches of the 2006 Competitions.
“I need not emphasize that the National Transitional Government of
Liberia finds itself faced with stringent financial and economic
constraints that will not permit it to provide the necessary financial
support to the team, in fulfillment of its remaining fixture.
Government is at this time focused on activities, which go beyond
these remaining games. The pending General Elections in early October
and the transition period leading to the Inauguration of the elected
government in early January 2006 demand a significant financial
outlay, problems which this Government is grappling with.
“Kindly, therefore inform the appropriate football authorities of
Government’s decision in the premise. We shall do all we can to ensure
that Liberia participates in the next round of competition.”
The Vice President of the LFA, Siaka A. Sheriff subsequently indicated
that to avoid a fine of US$40,000.00 and other penalties by world
soccer governing body FIFA, Liberia was honoring the encounter highly
needed by the host Togo, who is in comfortable position to reach the
World Cup for the first time.
He stated that the national team will leave on Friday by road via
Ghana where four players based there, Johnny Blidee, Bob Zeo, Aloysius
Pennie and Solomon Grimes, would form part of an eighteen-man playing
body.
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