Letters to the Webmaster

Hi Toyuwa (Monrovia Boy) and Wleh,

I hope all is well! As for me things are fine.

First of all, I would like to applaud/congratulate you guys on your work and efforts in keep us informed by the wonderful job you are doing with the Liberian Soccer web page. Congrats and keep up the good work!

My name is Manfred Makor and I live outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. From my last name, you can tell that I'm related to Oliver Makor. He's my cousin and I talk to him at least once a month. I'm a youth soccer coach in South Carolina so I'm very concern about our Liberian youth soccer landscape if there's any.

A little info about me: Before the war, I played youth soccer in Monrovia for Mandela Defenders out of Barnersville Estate. Anthony Jomah Ballah was a team mate of mine and I play against the likes of Eugene Gray, Christopher Wreh, Ayo Peters etc. Anyway, I'm a huge tebellah fan and I visit www.liberiansoccer.com everyday in order to follow the Liberian soccer news.

I think about a year ago, I posted a comment/topic in the old forum about developing youth soccer in Liberia and I didn't get much thread so now I just read the different topics/threads to stay inform or get my daily laughs.

The LFA needs to seriously look into developing youth soccer or else Liberia won't be able to compete competitively on the international stage in the next 10 years because we don't have youth teams competing now that will be groomed for the future. Please post a topic about developing youth soccer in Liberia in the Liberian Soccer chat room or forum.

Oh by the way, the Lone Star and LFA needs to start keeping tabs on Liberian kids that are playing soccer in the USA. For Example, Alex Nimo and Adama Wakai are in the USA U17 and U15 national team camps respectively. These kids are getting darn good training and exposure by traveling overseas with the USA. Alex has traveled to South America and Adama has traveled to Germany, Switzerland, and England. This summer, Adama's club team is heading to Liverpool for training.

There's a very talented Liberian kid who plays for Winthrop University and he's only 20 years old. His name is Otto Loewy and he's a darn good midfielder. If Liberia ever plays friendlies, Otto and Willis Forko should be invited just so the coach(es) and the Liberian people can judge for themselves. I know the Liberian people don't have a lot of faith in American trained soccer players, but Otto is a very very good defensive/holding midfielder. With the right opportunity like a home friendly, I think the kid should be invited or called up. Otto also traveled with his youth club to England and Germany before going to college.

Personally, I believe that Liberia needs to stop focusing on the 2010 World Cup. We as Liberians are too fixated on short-term and immediate goals/results instead of preparing and building for sustained growth or long term growth and the future. I think the Lone Star needs to drop all the current players over 25 years old so the younger players can gain the necessary exposure and take their beating now so within 4-5 years they'll be more experienced. It may seem an unpopular and drastic idea/move, but we can't continue to be putting band-aid on the situation.

The problem is that the LFA doesn't have any long term goals or plans of continuing to develop the Lone Star. If the Lone Star doesn't qualify for 2010 WC which is most likely the case, the LFA will wait until after the 2010 WC before they start planning for 2014. Typical example, after Lone Star missed out on 2002 WC, the team fell apart because there was no foundation/structure from the LFA. There were a lot of good young players to build with, but instead, the Lone Star become a disgrace. If the LFA had planned well and prepared for the future, those young players could be making Liberia/Liberians proud as we speak. There are no gradual/systematic goals for the LFA and the Lone Star.

I think the LFA and the Lone Star need to have goals more like this:
2008 Goal....................ACN in Accra
2010 Goal....................ACN 2nd Round
2012 Goal....................ACN 3rd-4th Round
2014 Goal....................WC in Brazil

With such a road map you will have the time to develop players and you'll see gradual progress. The quick fix attitude will just continue to cause us all heart aches because there aren't any planned/stated attainable goals.

The LFA also needs to start focusing on participating in the regional and continental youth tournaments and championships especially the U17 because the can build for the future from a core/pool of about 50 players.

In order to get the 50 players, the MYS in collaboration with the LFA needs to find an international sponsor and turn that darn county meet tournament into a national U16-17 tournament. The MYS & LFA needs to be soliciting sponsorship from companies such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Coca-Cola, Firestone/Bridgestone, Mittal Steel, etc or even the EU, US Soccer Federation, and other European Soccer Federation such as the Germans, Dutch, Swedes, etc.

For example, in 1988 and 1989, I played with Mandela Defenders in an U16 tournament that was sponsored by the German Embassy and Coca-Cola. We lost to Exodus in final in 1988 and we finished 3rd place in 1989. If I'm not mistaken, I think that tournament helped to most of the current Liberian players that are now between the ages of 31-36 on the football landscape in Liberia.

Anyway take care and feel free to call me at 704-351-1773. Also feel free to post this in the chat room if you deem it necessary. Sorry for the long email, but I would love to see our beloved tebellah improve and regain its place in African football!


Cheers,
Manfred Makor



Have A Nice & Wonderful Day!!