Monrovia– The Liberia Basketball Association (LBA) recently announced the eligibility criteria for the National County Sports Meet (NCSM) for this year, stating that only players under the age of 25 would be allowed to participate.
By Jaheim [email protected]
In previous editions, the NCSM was open to players of all ages, allowing even ex-President George M. Weah to represent Grand Kru County. LBA, the governing body for basketball in the country, decided to implement a ban on overage players.
However, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which had initially agreed to this decision, ultimately submitted to pressure from the counties during a highly intense meeting.
Sources said that the Deputy Minister for Sports, G. Andy Quamie, stated during the meeting that the tournament was a ‘political tournament’; therefore, the Ministry cannot adhere to the restriction after initially consenting that the Ministry was ready to enforce the restriction set by the LBA.
“We are just the organizers, so we will work with the rules given by all associations and federations for the good of the national county sports meet,” Minister Quamie said in an interview with Local Daily.
Commenting after the meeting, a dissatisfied LBA president, Abraham Samukai said that the MYS decided to strip off the overage players because the competition is a ‘political tournament.
Said Samukai said, “Minister Quamie said that the tournament is a political tournament, so we cannot stop the counties from featuring overage players.”
LBA General-Security on Details
LBA general secretary Calvin Diggs stated that this decision aims to encourage the participation of young athletes and provide them with a platform to showcase their talents.
Accordingly, he said that the LBA was scouting promising talents for the various youth national teams.
Diggs remarked, “By setting this age limit, we will give more young players the chance to develop and enhance the overall competitiveness of the event.”
He added, “The National County Sports Meet aims to foster national unity and discover talent for national teams, so the LBA must adequately support the development of young players and provide equal opportunities for them to showcase their skills.”
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