Monrovia – Former Liberia Under-17 captain, Emmett Stage Glassco, has backed comments made by sports enthusiast Yudu N Miller on corruption practices in the Liberia Football Association (LFA), which he believes are affecting the progress of football in the country.
The former footballer, who is now a club president, alleged that the Orange National League has grown unattractive over the years because of corruption within the ranks of the league management.
Speaking over the weekend as a guest on Freedom FM Sports, Glassco alleged that since Mustapha Raji came to power in 2018, corruption has been on the rise at the local football house. According to him, people have lost interest in the local leagues because corruption has characterized the FA.
“There is so much corruption in Liberian football; it’s unfortunate, but it’s true, and I’m not the only one who knows. A lot of people know that, and I think we have to do something about it, so I’m very happy Miller voiced it out,” Glassco said.
“For instance, President Raji has been instructing security at the ATS to share gate intake with his friends. There are so many things in football that are left unsaid. Many Liberian eyes are wide open; everybody wants to know about every single thing that happens in our football. It is not like in the past, and it’s killing our game,” he added.
He called on all stakeholders in the football industry to find a way, if not to eradicate it, at least to minimize it for the uplifting of football in the country.
“It’s very difficult to eradicate corrupt practices. Even the professional leagues in Europe find it difficult to fix them, but we should find a way to fix or minimize it if we are really serious about it,” he added.
Meanwhile, all efforts to get a response from the President of the Liberia Football Association did not materialize, as he refused to pick up our reporter’s calls or reply to his text messages on WhatsApp.