It is only two days before the Liberia Lone Star soccer squad engages its Malian counterpart – the Eagle of Mali on Sunday, June 6 at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex.

The public is wondering whether all nine of the professional players that the Liberia Football Association extended invitations would come down to beef up the team and pull a victory on Sunday.

But information in official sporting circles says one of the nine professionals, defender-cum-striker Zizi Roberts is demanding his an air ticket before leaving his Colorado base for Sunday duel.

  According to our sources, player Zizi is said to have reminded the FA that he had on numerous occasions ferried himself to honor invitations for Lone Star, but the FA A have disputed his expenses.

  Zizi said he would only come when a ticket is sent for him, but not for him to pay for his won ticket that may be disputed later.

  No word has so far come from the FA, but some officials of the local football house confided that the statement by player Zizi has caused some nervousness among FA officials and Lone Star players.

 Meanwhile, Zizi is not the only professional player who has not shown up since their invitations were reportedly dispatched to them.

  Player Oliver “Machine Man” Markor, and others are yet to show up or inform the LFA on their decisions, whether or not they would come to play the Sunday match.

  Football pundits say the delay by the players to come down is already an injury to the entire team.

  “These guys need to come and practice together,” Mary Sorbie, a football fan observed she wonders what could be the real problem between the players and the FA.

  Youth and Sports Minister Wheatonia Barnes has been quoted as saying that the government is faced with huge financial problem and as such it is unable to get the players’ ticket for them to come for the match on Sunday.

  According to a Youth and Sports source, the Minister is said to have guaranteed that the players will definitely get their money upon their arrival in the country.

  Sports observers say the players may be acting on past experiences where the government reneged on some of its promises.

  But a sport follower at the LFA argued that the government under Charles Taylor had endeavored to give the players their refund.

  Already, Kadala Kromah and boys are far into practices and only a few professionals have come to join their local colleagues.

  Those in camp and actively practicing with Lone Star local players are James Debah and Sunday Sieh, and a few others

   Professional player Frank Seator and others are in town, but our FA sources say they are not amongst  the nine players National Team Coach Kadala Kromah picked for the match.

  But considering that the players needed are not around, those around like Frank Seator, Henry Kollie, Isaiah Benson and Godfred Miller might fill in the gap in the name of nationalism and patriotism to give the Liberian people something to rejoice about.