Rep. Morris Blasts LFA -For Poor Organization of District Tournament -But LFA Official Provides Clarity

Monrovia-The Liberia Football Association’s (LFA) ongoing district tournament in Montserrado County is said to be poorly organized and carries several missteps that are causing serious embarrassment for district teams across Montserrado County, Montserrado District#1 Legislator Lawrence Morris alarmed in Monrovia today.

“I am seriously disappointed by the kind of poor organization and disorganization that we are witnessing relative to the ongoing LFA District league in Montserrado County,” Representative Morris informed a team of legislative correspondents in Monrovian Thursday, further terming the conduct of the ongoing district competition as a complete shame and disgrace.

   “You cannot have the LFA organizing things in this kind of fashion because, this is shameful and disgraceful,” lawmaker Morris declared. Adding that: “It would interest you to know that the LFA did not even provide transportation to carry the teams to and from to play the games. It would also interest you to know that the LFA gave two sets of jersey, and that one of the jersey sets does not have number. Things are just going helter-scattered. This is disgraceful. This is shameful. We cannot have the football house in this country organizing tournaments in such a terrible fashion. This is not good for the image of the FA and the country as a whole.”

  The Montserrado legislator also wondered why things would proceed in such a dismal fashion when in fact, “The LFA supposed to make preparation for the conduct of the competition far in advance.”

The exact terms and condition in which the district competition is being organized is not known yet, but Representative Morris insists that: “it is the sole responsibility of the LFA which has its own rules and regulations as to how to proceed with the organization of various leagues and tournaments in this country.”

  Given the appalling condition in which the competition is being reportedly organized, Representative Morris then vowed that: “We will pull out of the competition if things continue to be held in this way.”

The Montserrado lawmaker who expressed serious anger about the situation also warned that:   “We are very serious about this and we mean what we say. The LFA must look into this matter and find a quick way out of it or else, we will pull out.”

He said the situation is also bringing tremendous pressure and a lot of constraints on lawmakers, saying, “This is not only about District#1 but all other districts in Montserrado are being affected by this same poor organization and missteps due to the LFA’s negligence.”

He also frowned on Montserrado County alone hosting the tournament, saying, “Another thing we are very concerned about is the issue of Montserrado County alone hosting the district competition. What’s about Nimba, Lofa, Bong, Margibi, and other counties?”

When contacted for response to lawmaker Morris’ claims against the LFA, Horatio Bobby Willie, Consultant to the Liberia Football Association, replied to this news outlet that: “This is a pilot league that began last year. This is the time the LFA is having this pilot league. The LFA is only complimenting the effort of the districts. Besides, the LFA gave jerseys, and it is the responsibility of the district to put numbers on those jerseys. Other districts are doing that, and we expect Representative Morris’ district to do the same. The LFA is having the district league in this fashion due to some financial constraints.”

For more clarity on the issue, Mr. Willie also promised to link this news company to the organizing chairman of the LFA’s district league.

  Meanwhile, Representative Lawrence Morris has commended the National Soccer Team of Liberia for its recent victory over the Brave Warriors of Zimbabwe. The red, white and blue boys recently defeated their Zimbabwean counterparts at the SKD Stadium in a 1-0 victory that saw the Lone Star climbed to second place in Group G of the African Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon.

The Montserrado legislator described the Lone Star’s victory as a huge boost to their qualification campaign to Africa’s most prestigious tournament, saying, “I want to thank the National Football Team of Liberia for their recent victory over Zimbabwe. They (the Lone Star soccer team players) did remarkably well by winning that match, and I think we need to increase our support to the national team so that they will continue to make us proud and fly our colors very high.” Reported by By Varney Kamara, www.liberiannetwork.wordpress.com