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Youth and Sports Minister
Admonishes New Lone Star
-Sets Sight on Winning Laurels With New Team
By M.V. Paasewe
August 14, 2002
The long-winded Liberian Minister of Sports has cautioned the new crop of
local based Lone Star soccer players to hold together with high sense of
esprit de corps.
“Sometimes politics will play, and politics need not necessarily be from
government. It can be from among yourselves; we don’t want politics in the
new Lone Star,” Mr. Max Dennis told the players.
Minister Dennis made the remarks today at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium when
he attended the Lone Star training session where players from 34 first and
second division clubs playing in the 2002 LFA national soccer league were
selected to form the new national soccer team, comprising the Under-23 and
senior teams.
Mr. Dennis, who took over stewardship of the nation’s sports program from
the late Francois Massaquoi, and has not been as successful as his
predecessor, called on the newly selected team to remain disciplined.
“Some of you will be replacing our retired superstars, George Weah, Salinsa
(James Debbah), and others because of their age. But our superstars didn’t
reach that pinnacle of success without one important ingredient-discipline,”
he said.
Continuing, he said, “If we have money as government, show your side of
patriotism; if we don’t have money, continue to be disciplined and stay in
sympathy with our current plight. We have a very serious situation as you
all know right now. Most of what government gets goes out to secure the
territorial integrity of the country. I have on my desk programs that have
come from the LFA. The LFA has sent what would be the expense column of
engaging tournaments here in African continent- in Guinea and Ghana, to
begin with. It’s a very sizable outlay. We do not know how government will
be able to respond to this. But we will shortly be in touch with the Chief
Patron, the President. It is only he who will be able to give us guidance”.
Minister Dennis reminded the local talents that they have taken a huge
responsibility by making the team. “Don’t let anyone fool you that we’re
going to wait for foreign based players. If you put it in your heads, you
can do what others can do abroad. You have a dynamic coach. We have
appointed him based on his nomination by the LFA. He comes with credentials
aplenty. Not only in the area of football, but also in the area of Science.
He taught in the United States. Also to help him are people of expertise. In
the past, perhaps some of them did not have the full swing of authority to
orchestrate the team. Sometimes politics will play, and politics need not
necessarily be from government. It can be from among yourselves. Sometimes
you look at a senior player, or somebody who has the cash, and he is the
center of politics. We don’t want politics in the new Lone Star. We want
partnership, patriotism, and sympathy with our conditions,” he said.
“You have a very good technical team here, Wortor Anderson, Thomas Apomah
and Kadala Kromah. I hope you players will not just lose this interest. I
see some fine fellows who have already their marks like Isaac Tondo. If
these players had been used in the just ended African Nations Cup in Mali,
perhaps the story would have been different. But politics was there. Let’s
try to help the coach in the management of the team.
“I bring you greetings also from the president, the chief patron. He would
certainly take into consideration all of the perimeters of the concern of
the public, your own aspirations as players and my own position as minister.
Because football controls the Ministry of Youth and Sports, rightly or
wrongly, I will be riding on the success of the new team. My late
predecessor, Francois Massaquoi, rode in a bandwagon of success. The team
was powerful and strong at the time, and therefore he stood as a respectable
Minister of Youth and Sports. I too would like to have that laurel”.
However, in the face of scheduled continental encounters next month, many
Lone Star watchers are apprehensive that delays in funding the national team
to start early preparations and participate in the tournaments could portend
disaster for the much-heralded new team.
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