By Danesius Marteh,
There will be no Liberian clubs participating in the 2026/2027 CAF men’s interclub competitions.
That’s because the Liberia Football Association (LFA) woefully failed to confirm the participation of first division champions Watanga FC for the Champions League and knockout winner Black Man Warriors for the Confederation Cup.
The teams have missed out on US$100,000 respectively, which is provided by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a solidarity payment to assist with travels and other logistical costs.
Our neighbors registered clubs for the two competitions when the draws were held in Cairo, Egypt on 6 August.
Ivory Coast’s ASEC Mimosas and FC San Pedro, Star Sport Academy of Sierra Leone and Guinea’s Horoya AC registered for the Champions League.
And Ivory Coast’s CO Korhogo and AF Amadou Diallo, Haifa FC of Guinea and Sierra Leone’s East End Lions registered for the Confederation Cup.
LFA secretary-general Emmett Crayton runs the day-to-day activities and has understandably been the Akon, who must take the blame.
But LFA President Mustapha Ishola Raji has been functioning like an employee since his election in September 2018.
Raji goes to work daily and holds meetings with several departments, from media to finance and from technical to competitions, on a regular basis.
Isaac T. Z. Montgomery, who was LFA secretary-general from December 2018 to December 2022, repeatedly told senior staff and general staff meetings that he takes no decision without the expressed consent and approval of Raji.
In addition, Raji is a CAF executive committee member, who acts like the Jack of all trades.
So why didn’t the LFA register Watanga and Black Man Warriors?
The LFA announced an investigative panel on 5 August, which is headed by Vice President Jodie Reid-Seton and includes executive committee members Elvis Sirleaf and Ousman Tall, “to examine the circumstances surrounding Liberia’s non-participation in CAF men’s interclub competitions”.
Jodie’s committee was given three days (as of 4 August) to complete its work and submit a comprehensive report with findings and recommendations to the executive committee.
The LFA said “it deeply regrets that Liberian clubs will not participate in this season’s CAF interclub competitions and acknowledges the disappointment this has caused the clubs, their supporters and football community” but a regret won’t fill the clubs’ bank accounts by US$100,000 each.
Social media have been inundated with calls for the resignation of Crayton and it is highly likely the committee will hold him responsible for this singular act of negligence.
The saddest part is those calling for Crayton’s resignation or dismissal didn’t call for Raji’s resignation when Liberia’s men’s under-17 were disqualified for age cheating or fraud from the CAF under-17 qualifiers held by the West African Football Union (Wafu Zone ‘A’) in Nouakchott, Mauritania on 3 October 2022.
Tall, who is part of Jodie’s committee, was head of delegation and didn’t say a word.
It took former LFA Vice President Wilmot Smith and then sports minister Zeogar Wilson to call out Raji before he took responsibility after he initially blamed the unsuspecting parents.
Raji, a CAF executive committee member, knows that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is what CAF and FIFA use to determine the ages of players but he sent administrative manager Eric Panton from homes to homes for parents to sign consent forms that their children are under-17 despite a plea from coach Ansu Keita for the team to travel to Ghana by road to undergo MRI.
Liberians are still awaiting the outcome of a committee set-up by Raji to bizarrely find out why the team was disqualified.
But like Prime FM rule of law and security expert Alfred Jah Johnson has said, there is everywhere else and there is Liberia.
Liberians are patiently awaiting the outcome of another committee’s report.
