Concern Mounts Over The Usage of US $55,000

Concern Mounts Over The Usage Of US$55,000
Tuesday, 28th October 2008
D. Webster Cassell



...AS Sports Group Wants LFA, MYS Clarify
A sports group under the banner United for the Promotion of Sports in Liberia has raised serious concern over the usage of the US$55,000 which was generated from a deal signed between the Liberia Football Association and a French-based advertising firm, International Football Advertising and Promotion Group (ISAP).
The group said having realized that the deal was fraudulently signed by the Secretary General of the Liberia Football Association (LFA), they have doubt that the usage of the funds was delivered appropriately.
According to them, the contract which was signed on March 28, 2008 with an insertion that there should be no third party, needs to be investigated so as to know where and how the funds were expended.
They noted that their interest is in the drive to ensure that the funds impact the Liberian game to the extent that every Liberian and followers of the game should see.
The United For the Promotion of Sports in Liberia further claimed that since the country’s last qualifier match here in Monrovia, neither the Ministry of Youth and Sports nor the FA ever clarified how the contract was reached or about the usage of the US$55,000, thus creating doubts in the minds of many followers of the game.
Additionally, they called on the Liberia Football Association and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYS) to provide clarity on how the deal was finalized without the involvement of the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYS).
They noted that in order to avoid constant public outcry from the sporting populace, it was necessary that those who were direct participants in the deal make public clarification on what were involved during the transaction and basically how the funds would have had impact on the Liberian game.
It was recently reported that a US$55,000 media right deal was reached between a French-based media and advertising firm and the Liberian Football Association (LFA).
According to the reports, the deal was actually finalized on March 28, 2008 at a meeting only attended by officials of the FA and the French-based media firm.
It was reported that the Sports Ministry provided no administrative advice, neither did they confirm the authorization for the FA to enter an agreement of such.
The contract was signed with the intent of granting the French-based advertising firm the full media right to carry live the Algeria versus Liberia qualifier match which was played on Sunday, October 12, 2008.
Prior to the day of the match, the Ministry of Youth and Sports sounded that they were not aware about any US$55,000 deal that was signed between the FA and a French media firm and that they were only informed later when the deal had already been signed and finalized.
Meanwhile, the sports group is calling on the Liberia Football Association to provide clarity on the US$55,000 deal since in fact they earlier failed to inform the Liberian populace on the deal and what was in there for the Liberian game.
They also urged the Sports Ministry to exonerate themselves from the contract by informing the Liberian people about the role they played after they realized that the contract was already signed.