Africa-Press – Liberia. The much-anticipated 2023/2024 National County Sports Meet suffered a setback a day before the official kick-off following the government of Liberia’s postponement of the biggest sporting festival in Liberia. River Gee County was named the official host County of the 2023-2024 National County Sports Meet, which was expected to kick off on Saturday, December 16, 2023, but Minister D. Zeogar Wilson informed the various counties that the tournament was postponed.According to the Organizers, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the tournament was scheduled to kick off on December 16 and was expected to end on January 14, eight days before the official inauguration of the new government headed by Ambassador Joseph Boakai. The annual sports festival aims to unite the people of Liberia and is played among the 15 subdivisions of the country. Its objective is to scout talents for the various national teams of Liberia, and such objectives are key to sports development and peace promotion.
But in a statement issued late Friday evening, Minister Wilson said the decision to postpone the sporting festival was based on precedent. “In 2017, the transitional team of then-President-elect George Manneh Weah requested the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf government to kindly leave the Hosting of the National County Sports Meet for the Weah-led Government to host, and Madam Sirleaf’s government agreed.” “In the same vein, the Transitional Team of President-elect Joseph Nyuma Boakai had made a similar request, and President George Weah has accepted,” the Sports Minister said. The Sports Ministry, however, apologized for any inconvenience the decision may have caused counties and supporters.
Up to Friday, December 15, 2023, the eve of the tournament resumption, the venue for the official opening ceremony in Fish Town, River Gee, wasn’t prepared. Participating counties didn’t receive money, player cards, and other technical assistance. It can be recalled that a week before the hosting of the annual National County Meet, former Assistant Minister of Sports, Murvee Gray, recommended the postponement of the annual sporting festival. According to Mr. Gray, who served as assistant minister for 12 years under Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, organizing the National County Sports Meet in 2023 will undermine the true intent of the tournament, which is national reconciliation. “In 2017, we were asked to turn over to personal Directors by December 31, so we couldn’t organize the CM”. ” We did all the technical work and left it with the middle-managers, and it was implemented by Minister Zoegar Wilson when he took over” “ “Why do they want to organize the tournament when they will be turning over at the end of December?” ” Are they saying the middle-managers will implement and report to the next Ministers? I think they should do the same, leave it for the next officials” Gray, now an Executive Committee Member at the Football Association, said in an Interview.
Reasons behind 2017-2018 County Meet Postponements
In 2017, the National County Sports Meet was postponed several times but officially kicked off on Saturday, March 31, across the country with all 15 counties participating in the sporting festival, which ended on April 22, 2018. The month-long tournament was postponed five times due to financial and technical reasons. The tournament failed to kick off on December 2, 2017, because the Superintendent Council of Liberia refused to honor the tournament on the grounds that the amount allocated for the sporting showdown was insufficient to take care of their various counties. The Superintendents were demanding US$30,000 for each county to kick-start the nation’s biggest sporting events but later agreed to receive US$21,000. Again, the tournament was postponed from December 9 to 16 and to 30, 2017, because of the heated political activities in the country, which brought current President George Weah to power.
With all the concerns about the incoming Government planning to host the tournament and not the current administration, the Ministry of Youth and Sports was able to secure two sponsorship deals for the National County Sports Meet. On December 4th, port operator APM Terminals Liberia renewed its support for the biggest sporting festival in Liberia with the presentation of jerseys to the Ministry of Youth & Sports. The items donated consist of branded jerseys for all the teams participating in the most prestigious sporting event. The company’s total investment in Liberia’s biggest sports festival is over $100,000 in the last five years. The customized jerseys will be distributed among the counties just before the kickoff in 2022, with each county receiving two sets of jerseys for football, kickball, and basketball.
Also, ArcelorMittal Liberia stepped in to support the Ministry of Youth and Sports in sponsoring the upcoming National County Sports Meet, the country’s largest sporting festival that was scheduled to kick off this weekend on December 16 in River Gee County. ArcelorMittal Liberia, on December 13, 2023, presented a cash sponsorship of eighty thousand United States dollars to the Ministry of Youth and Sports on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, for the month-long sporting festival. During the presentation ceremony at ArcelorMittal’s office in Monrovia, Marcus Wleh, Head of Sustainability and External Relations of ArcelorMittal Liberia, disclosed that the total sponsorship package is $125,000 USD. He mentioned that $80,000 will be given to the organizers, who will, in turn, share it with the various counties. As part of the company’s contribution, defending football champions Nimba County received $15,000 USD, while Bong and Grand Bassa Counties were given $10,000 each, in line with ArcelorMittal’s assistance to the three counties where they operate. Mr. Wleh further revealed that an additional $10,000 USD will be given to the Ministry of Youth and Sports to distribute among the various champions at the end of the tournament, which concludes on January 14. As the tournament has been postponed, many lovers of the county are wondering what will become of the eighty thousand United States dollars given to the Ministry of Youth and Sports by Arcelor Mittal Liberia.
Political involvement
During the National event, political leaders identified with their various counties, including the President of Liberia. The county’s expectations of support rely on the Government officials from the counties who, in return, will need their support for political seats. Records have shown that some politicians have played key roles in their county’s success. The County Sports Meet will continue to be the most watched and attractive tournament in Liberia because of its attachment to the people of Liberia.
County loyalty’
People from the various counties tried to show respect and love for their county by displaying a symbol of the county they support at the Stadium and in their communities. It is a tournament for Liberians who come from any of the 15 counties of Liberia. But some citizens have faced double loyalty when it comes to supporting a particular county due to inter-tribal marriage.
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