|
In my first edition of a series of accounts attempting to dispel the misinformation availed to the public by Amb. George Weah-- through his interview published by ESPN Jemele Hill and K.N.S. Mensah of the Gold.com Media--I highlighted the three fundamental pillars (funding, facilities, manpower development), for the growth of football in Africa and the rest of the globe, as opposed to Mr. Weah's view that “coaching is the key for improving soccer in Africa”.
In this phase of my reaction, I would like to challenge the Sports Ambassador on his claim that during the African Cup of Nations Finals in South Africa in 1996, Lone Star’s players received $25.00 a day while officials of the Ministry of Youth and Sports (M.Y.S) and Liberia Football Association (LFA) got $300.00. This statement is porous, unfounded, ungrounded and does not have any once of truth. It beats my imagination that the officials of the MYS and LFA could be so insensitive to pocket $300.00 a day and hand out $25.00 to players. No player or member of the technical staff of the Lone Star can attest to this sort of lies told by a man (George Weah) so widely respected by sporting world.
As a matter of fact, all budgets for the Lone Star's engagements emanated directly from my office, as manager of the LFA. Our budgets were usually scrutinized by the MYS for subsequent submission to the Office of the President for approval. That was the procedure. Is Mr. Weah saying that the President(s) were so ignorant or blind to approve such a huge disparity during such difficult times (1993...)?
These were the same bundles of lies propagated by the international media (mainly BBC and a Nigerian sports paper) that Mr. Weah paid the bills of the LFA and wages of its staff; and that he single-handedly sponsored the Lone Star during the period of the war. The former world best player never refuted these lies, consequently helping him to win enormous international sympathy and huge local public sentiment.
Let it be known that at no time did the LFA ever enjoy or benefit from any gestures of Mr. George Manneh Weah. On the other hand, I am convinced that all loans made to the Government of Liberia regarding the Lone Star through the MYS or LFA by Manneh were paid back to him immediately before the national team's next or subsequent match. The brother always threatened that if his money were not reimbursed, he would not appear for the team's next game. Hence, we ensured that whatever amount owed Amb. Weah was always allocated in the budget of the Lone Star.
Yes, indeed, the government owed Mr. Weah who had all rights to refund. But what about those civil servants (doctors, teachers, nurses, scavengers, etc.), and the international community, whose debts were never paid? They, too, deserved their monies. But those civil servants remained tolerant and stood the test of time until conditions began to improve. The international organizations did not boycott Liberia, as Amb. Weah threatened on countless number of occasions.
Interestingly though, whenever George loaned money to Lone Star, he made elaborate publicity as if the said amount was a grant or gift. But whenever we were paying him back, we did not contact BBC, Radio Monrovia, Star Radio, ELBC, New Democrats, Daily Observer, etc. for coverage. For the six years while I conducted the business of LFA, I have the least imagination that the Government of Liberia (GOL) owed Mr. Weah or any player of the Lone Star a penny.
Let it be made clear that the period under retrospect was the era of the crisis in our country when the GOL was faced with a number of pressing demands, to the point where it could not immediately respond to the business of the national teams in most instances.
I don’t know about GOL’s level of support today, but there was never an appropriation in the budget of for the development of sports even while President Samuel Doe was Chairman of the LFA. The Liberian government always supported sports incrementally—from game to game. There were instances where LFA President Willard A. Russell and I loaned our personal monies to the Lone Stars' (Senior, U-23, U-17 and U-13 teams), to address some of their critical needs. We would go into the community, borrowing money, just to keep those teams afloat. There are records at the LFA to indicate that the FA still owes Willard Russell and Sackie Kennedy. But we never issued threats nor are we making noise around, although we, too, deserve to be refunded.
In conclusion, I challenge Mr. George Manneh Weah to show proof of his claim that Lone Star players received $25.00 a day and officials got $300.00, as I referenced in his interviews with the international press. “What shall it benefit a man who claims honor, but tells fairy tales for self aggrandizement”? Click Here to read Part I
“The virtues of truth, honesty, patriotism, wisdom and youth empowerment are just ideal for acquiring legendary honor”...J. Sackie Kennedy
|
