Sports promoter Joseph Farkollie

By Julu M. Johnson, Jr.

The President of the Promoters of Liberian Athletes (PROLA) is with the view that if the national team Lone Star is to reach the World Cup for the first time as well as a third Nations Cup finals, that would not be achieved with the level of preparation so far.

Mr. Joseph Farkollie, who was among the panelists at the Herbert Grigsby Lecture Forum organized by the Sports Writers Association of Liberia (SWAL) last Friday, thinks a comprehensive package detailing interrupted sources of funding is cardinal to the way forward.

Though Mr. Farkollie said other factors may have played their part, he suggested the current financial problems must come to an immediate end.

According to the PROLA boss, a substantial budgetary appropriation for the Lone Star in the supplementary budget should be prioritized.

He proposed the setting up of an Ad-hoc Financial Task Force comprised of a cross section of citizens and partners with unimpeachable or unquestionable financial character currently in private sector management to receive and authorize the disbursements of all funds intended for Lone Star's 2010 joint campaigns.

Moreover, Mr. Farkollie wants the idea of players making demands before getting travel and other match related per diems discouraged.

He is sure that the timeliness of making funds available can serve as motivation for the technical staff and playing team.

Farko says the issue of funding should be seen as litmus test for the actualization of the 2010 dreams and that this is a challenge that all must rise up to avoid personalizing or politicizing anything that relates to the Lone Star.

"The need for collective approach in decision making must be encouraged at all levels," said Mr. Farkollie.

He urged all Liberians to remain vigilant and detest all forms of undue political interference in the selection of players and management of the team. Farko kicked against 'powerful individuals' being permitted to micro-manage the Lone Star.

The renowned sports promoter challenged each and every Liberian to play a pivotal role when it comes to shaping and controlling public opinion.

Farko: "Let us be realistic about setting targets. As a strong follower of football development around the globe, results from careful planning and implementation takes not less than three years. We must therefore not mislead our people that in two years, a foreign coach can play magic by qualifying Lone Star for both African Cup of Nations and World Cup competitions. What we think we can hope for now is to qualify for the African Cup of Nations and work towards 2014 as a realistic target for reaching the World Cup."

On the technical level, the PROLA President demands the maintenance of the playing pitch, which he thinks is often overlooked. According to him, if the anticipation of the country is for the Lone Star to live up to expectation considering the hiring of a foreign coach coupled with the expected level of training, then 'simple thing' like keeping the pitch in shape must claim the country's attention now.

"We want to in this public manner remind coach (Antoine) Hey that this task he has accepted is not an easy one. He must be willing to accept constructive criticism, yet maintaining his focus on his game plan for which ultimately he's going to be held accountable. We admonish him to exhibit farsightedness in the selection process so that seventy percent of those selected will have at least five or more years of playing competitive football. So, it is important that age should serve as major criteria. Preferably, this selection could serve as the nucleus of the 2014 campaign," Mr. Farkollie stated.

The sports promoter drew the attention of the coach to the issue of discipline. He argues that without having a collection of discipline players, success would continue to elude Liberia despite the abundance of talented footballers comparable to standard anywhere in the world.

"Our failure in the past can not be attributed to the lack of talents, but rather organizational shortcomings. A foreign coach alone can not qualify Lone Star. The Ministry of Youth and Sports, Liberia Football Association and indeed the general public need to get involved. Each has unique and distinct roles to play in the qualifiers. The Ministry's role is to muster the political will by ensuring that adequate finances are provided for the support of the players and the technical staff in executing various programs such as camping, training and playing friendly matches. The Liberia Football Association is the sole technical manager of the Lone Star, while the public is expected to voluntarily lend moral, material and financial assistance," the PROLA President concludes.