Many Oppose IE’s Promotion


                                       LFA Executive Committee


By Julu M. Johnson, Jr.

There are mounting discontentment's against the surprise promotion of the Invincible Eleven (IE) from the first division to the Premier League.

Samuel Karn, the owner and founder of another first division outfit, Karn United, termed the decision as a bad precedence being set by the Liberia Football Association (LFA).

According to Mr. Karn, it was incumbent upon the LFA to go through the merit system of qualification if IE must reach the top stage.

The Karn United owner pointed out that as far as he was concerned, IE was still a first division and that the club should expect to be seen in the 2006-2007 league season.

Sports journalist Michael Weah of Radio Veritas, when speaking on the issue during his weekend program “Sportsline”, described the promotion of IE as unconstitutional in that the statutes of the LFA call for the promotion and relegation of two clubs each in the various divisions.

Mr. Weah said that the decision was unfair to the other clubs and argued that, what is the on the books should be adhered to by the football governing body in the county.

He warned the LFA to stick to two teams and noted that: “what is not done properly is not done at all.”

Also challenging the decision was the Chairman of the West-Clara LFA Sub-Committee, Edward J. Brooks.

Also an executive of the Union of LFA Sub-Committees (ULFASCOM), Mr. Brooks suggested that rather than only giving preference to IE, it was better that the increment benefit all divisions.

He made particular reference to the third division playoff, which often involves more than forty clubs, but with only two qualifying at the end of the day.

The President of the newly crowned first division champions, Gedi and Sons, Mr. Patrick Garwo holds the view that the decision is meant to accommodate IE. Otherwise, he wants the number of teams for promotion to be increased to five. He went on to say that had it been other clubs that did not qualify, such move would not have been executed.

He cautioned that the IE-Barolle syndrome should be done away with if the game must improve in the country.

The Sunshine Yellow Boys recently needed wins in two matches to automatically reach the Premier League.

But IE faltered in doing so after a 2-2 draw against the Barracks Young Controllers (BYC) and thereafter got mercilessly flogged 4-0 last Friday by the United Soccer Ambassadors (USA) Invaders. The results saw IE finishing in the first division in third place as Gedi and Sons and Mighty Blue Angels of Harbel sailed through.

Yet few days after the race for the Premier League ended, IE gained promotion through a decision by the Competition Committee of the Liberia Football Association (LFA) to increase the number of clubs in the Premier League.

The news came as a rumor, but if comments by an Executive Committee Member of the LFA, Garmondeh Karnga and other officials are something to go by, then it has become a full-gone conclusion about IE’s promotion.

Amidst fresh memories of yesteryears about the way the LFA decided to resulted to a “Big Eight” instead of an original “Big Six” apparently because IE did not make it, so, the decision to promote the Yellow Boys have not gone down with the public.

With IE joining the two teams already qualified to advance to the Premier League, a total of twelve clubs are expected there next season.

There are already Mighty Barrolle, LPRC Oilers, NPA Anchors, Monrovia Club Breweries, Wantanga F C and Black Star.
By such decision, lower performers like Roots FC and Mark Professionals would also be among clubs that would be in the Premier League next season.