Monrovia – Liberia international star Anthony Snoti Laffor is calling on the government of Liberia to focus more on the Liberia Football Association (LFA) national league if they want to see positive result coming from the senior national team in the near future.
Report by Jackson F. Kanneh 00231770195412/ [email protected]
Laffor who was part of the Lone Star squad that defeated the Warrior of Zimbabwe1-0 Sunday in the 2019 African Cup of Nation (AFCON) qualifiers made the disclosure to FrontPage Africa in Monrovia.
According to the Lonestar skipper, Liberia football is not where it should be because of the lack of support to the national league.
He said the government of Liberia through the LFA should focus their attention on the Orange sponsored first division national league in order to get the best out of the Lone Star.
The Mamelodi Sundowns winger said the national league of Liberia needs to be supported by the government of Liberia just how it is done to the county meet.
According to the former LISCR FC winger, if the necessary support is given to the players that are playing in the league as compared to the county meet, Liberian football especially, the senior team will benefit greatly.
“Players choose the county meet over the league in Liberia because of the financial support and prestige that is giving to the county meet”.
“The reason why the Liberian league is not up to standard is because people fail to support the league. They give all their support to the county meet. It is frustrating to see players in the county meet making money that players that are playing in the first and second division league don’t make.
“At the end of the day you will see players wanting to play in the county meet than the first division league all because of the money. I think that is not helping the growth of football in Liberia, because if you play in the county meet for two or three times without going anywhere you are killing your dream as a player,” he said.
Responding to a question as to whether grassroot football in Liberia is improving amid the many challenges, the former Super Sport United man extolled the work of local coaches for helping to build the mentality of local players. He said the level of performance coming from local based players that are on the senior team is a clear indication that football is indeed improving in the country amid the difficulties.
“Liberian soccer is getting better because you can see from the local guys that are playing on the national team. You can see the level of understanding they have for the game as compare to some years ago”, he stated.
The Liberian soccer star is at the same time urging young players in Liberia to focus on their professional career as footballers if they want to succeed.