Africa-Press – Liberia. A concerned citizen of Grand Cape Mount County, Thomas F. Tucker, is calling on local school administrators to establish an independent school sports league, citing the lack of support from the Inter-School Sports Association (ISSA).
Tucker told FrontPage Africa that ISSA has failed to respond to calls for youth sports programs in the county and stressed that schools in Cape Mount have the resources and talent to manage their own league, especially in football, basketball, and kickball.
“We’ve waited long enough,” Tucker said. “Now is the time for school administrators to unite and create a structured league for our children. We cannot let their talents go undeveloped.”
He emphasized the role of sports in youth development and highlighted that the county has 25 high schools, 17 junior high schools, and over 30 elementary schools. Tucker also advocated for academic requirements for student-athletes, noting that “education must come first before recreation.”
Responding to the criticism, former ISSA Vice President Murvee Gray acknowledged the absence of a school league in the county this year but attributed it to financial and logistical constraints. He confirmed that ISSA had previously supported school leagues in Cape Mount and welcomed local initiatives to restart such programs.
Tucker is now pushing for a county-wide stakeholders’ meeting involving school principals, PTAs, youth groups, and government representatives to establish the framework for a Cape Mount School Sports League, aiming to launch in the next academic year.
“If we are serious about developing footballers, basketball players, or kickball stars, it has to start at the grassroots and it has to start now,” Tucker emphasized.
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