Hassan Kiawu
hkiawu@liberianobserver.com

Monrovia, June 6-In the streets of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, a teenage footballer defines the state of what used to be the country’s leading sport with a formula: Liberian football-Oppong = Disaster. He’s not the architect of this formula but it is the word in Monrovia and the grim reality one faces. 

Since Weah retired from active football and now seemed to have washed his hands off all affairs following what many Liberians including sports officials think was a bias and an unnecessary technicality to bar him from standing for the FA’s top post, Liberian football has become a lamb duck sport.

Its popularity has dwindled, attendance has dropped considerably giving rise to the country’s second popular sport, basketball to take to the podium.  

Basketball is widely watched. And much to the delight of the capacity crowd that troop to the Sports Commission on Broad Street, the players do deliver and fans do also get their money’s worth.

Excitement is always generated among fans at nearly all matches most especially those involving Barrolle and rival club NPA-Pythons, Invincible Eleven (IE), LPRC-Oilers, Uhuru Kings as players attempt to scale their respective sides to new heights while fans are filled with enthusiasm and optimism at the prospects of their teams.

After seeing a poor turn out at IE’s training ground at the airfield in Sinkor, I was at least hoping to see an overwhelming turn out at the Antoinette Tubman stadium in their match against rival club side, Mighty Barrolle.

It was astonishing to see more crowd on the same day at the Oilers-Uhuru Kings basketball match at the Sports Commission than that of the IE/Barrolle duel the same day. As I bowed my head in disgust, one football fan, who had recognized me said “Hassan, I hope you journalists who are coming back are seeing things for yourself”, he added.

Weah's influence

Many credit George Weah for the vast improvement and showcase of Liberian football worldwide. “His efforts and financial contributions of over two million dollars of his money have saved Liberia from FIFA and CAF bans as well as helped the country to two Nations Cup finals and just one victory shy of reaching the 2002 World Cup finals, the best performance by Africa’s oldest republic” recalls football fan, Momo Kandakai.

And thanks to his soccer prowess and influences, FIFA has contributed immensely to the sport including offering the then FA Secretary General, Shakespeare (Shakie) Doe-Williams a scholarship to study sports administration and management in Switzerland.

Similar offer was extended to then FA president, Edwin Snow to study in Colorado, USA. Shakespeare defected to New Jersey after completing his course in 2001. But Snow enjoyed the better of the FA. He remote controlled the national governing body from the USA for as long as he studied in Colorado much to the fury of sports officials and personalities.

Nevertheless, many Liberians think this former son-in-law of ex-Liberian dictator Charles Taylor (named in 2002 as the Chicago Tribune’s World’s fourth worst dictator behind South Korea’s Kim Jon Il, The Saudi Royal Family and the then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein) has won the admiration of the public for his role as the most effective sports mobilizer the country had seen in post Doe-era. 

And thanks to a power-sharing arrangement in 2003, the former FA boss now sits comfortably over Liberia’s Oil Refinery as its managing Director holding a self-proclaimed title of “honorable” Edwin Snow (don’t they all anyway?)

Teens revolution

The most watched football matches are played chiefly by teenagers at street corners including the all popular Broad and Lynch Streets intersection and the various communities including the Stephen Tolbert Estate-based club, “Flames” recently made a superb run to the premiership after winning the first division championship. 

“Our sports officials are not serious about developing the game. All they know is to eat the money”, said a spectator. “Look at the these children, and if the LFA can devote money and time to their development, Liberia will produce more Oppong (George Weah), more Salinsa (James Debah) and will then become a force to reckon with in Africa” another added.

Many football-crazy fans are aware of the unhealed “no money syndrome” which has plagued the sport and the country’s only football Messiah (George Weah) has discontinued his support to the scrappy Lone Star side.

The team is struggling at the bottom of the table in the on-going joint Nations Cup and World Cup qualifiers with group leaders Togo, Senegal, Zambia, Congo and Mali. In their weekend match against Mali in Bamako, they Liberian side was whitewashed 4-1.

Off course, poor preparations have been blamed for the team poor showing. The team has three more matches left and Liberia are due to host Congo in Monrovia on 19^th June.

But there is also another factor that is stalling the development of football. Both the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Liberia football Association (LFA) are locked in a marathon-long wrangling over the latter’s refusal to submit to an audit for funds contributed by FIFA and those generated locally.

The Ministry, the official overseer of all sports in the country has maintained that there is no smoking gun here but it was necessary for the FA to submit to the exercise to ensure accountability, which many say was healthy for the development of the sport and will help to promote a sound financial management.

But FA officials reckon the ministry has got no rights to request an audit or monitor their activities due to their autonomy as a football governing body.

What is more intriguing is that both the Minister, Mrs. Wheatonia Dixon-Barnes and her counterpart Izetta Wesley are lawyers and have been affiliated with football for over two decades.

Despite the fact that her husband has for years been an Executive and staunch supporter of Invincible Eleven (IE), Mrs. Barnes saw the formation and development of the NPA-Anchors through its national championship era in the mid 90s while Izetta had been an Executive of Invincible Eleven.

'No popularity contest'

Some FA insiders think the Minister is attempting to upstage their boss, who took over from the “honourable” under whose administration FIFA jumped life into the association with over a million dollars in cash, facilities and training opportunities.

“This is no popularity contest and the LFA needs to allow reason to prevail to improve the game for the benefit of the youth and the country”, said former national team coach, Tijani Lardner (AKA Green Banana or TJ), who coached the Lone Star to their first ever appearance at the Cup of Nations finals in South Africa in 1996.

But as the saga continues, European football more especially the English Premiership is making headway in Liberia and more and more Liberians have developed the appetite for it at least to keep their passion for football and the spirit of the game alive.  

With the games aired on George Weah’s TV station, hundreds by 4pm on days the games are played, hundreds jam packed the various hataii spots and other provision shops in the city center as well as video clubs across the city and its environs to watch the games.

Some communities have name their teams after Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea (of Britain) or even Barcelona or Real Madrid (of Spain). For their part, some   call themselves Zidan (Algerian turned French) or names such as David Beckham or Michael Owen (of Britain). A Liberian taking on a white man’s name, I asked myself? But that is common is sport. I saw two instances of that before in Maryland and in Atlanta, USA.

A white man wearing a George Weah jersey in Maryland, USA could not contain his delight but refer to himself as such on seeing a group of Liberians at a football tournament. 

'Only one black Jordan'

In another scenario in 1998, a white man referred to his teenage son as “little white Jordan”. I had just concluded an interview with Michael Jordan minutes after their Chicago Bulls/Atlanta Hawks match in Atlanta.

As I came out of the locker room (dressing room) I saw children wearing Jordan T-shirts and waiting patiently for autographs. Amazed by that, I immediately referred to one of them as little Jordan. But the father jumped in: “no, little White Jordan”. Angered by the racial tone, I fired back: “there’s only a black Jordan”.

Meanwhile, other sports such as boxing and track and field are said to be feverishly preparing to create an impression in their respective competitions while other sports such as tennis and marshal arts are yet to get any recognition let alone any support.

Boxing is still retaining the service of their long time coach, Baby Joe Boaker, whose club, “The Baby Joe Boaker House of Pain” is the home to many potential boxers in the country.

Track and field is headed by Henry Williams, a one-time thrower (Javelin, Discuss and Shot Putt) whose former club, Antheus produced most of the country’s top runners in the 1990s including myself, who gained the reputation as “The human jet” for maintaining years of unbeaten record and a blazing speed in the sprints (100m and 200m) after a transformation from Middle distance to the events.

Under the sponsorship of four-time Liberian Olympic 400m runner and Surgeon, Grace Dinkins, a select group of athletes train four times a week at the Samuel Kanyon Doe sports complex in Paynesville.

Yet, their future and those of other local-based athletes seem to rest solely on hopes that the newly overhauled Liberia Olympic Committee headed by former army spokesman, Phillip Bert would create as many opportunities for training and exposure.

With the country’s only sports saviour (Weah) now throwing his hats in the political ring, sports officials would need to look elsewhere for salvation to rescue the sport. Better still, putting their house in order would do the country and the sport more good than a search for a Weah replacement, which may not be found anytime soon.