Monrovia —In wake of a string of losses for the national football team in recent years, the Draft National Budget for Fiscal Year 2025 has drastically reduced allotment for football.
By: Christopher C Walker [email protected] 0777898224/0886723075
The draft budget, submitted to the national legislature, has seen a reduction in funding to US$50,000, which shows over 50 percent less than the US$150,000 approved in the 2024 fiscal year.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports, tasked with the responsibility of supervising sports and youth development, has a total budget of US$6 million for 2025.
According to officials from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, they submitted a budget of US$12million to the ministry of finance development planning but only six million was placed in the budget for the lawmakers to debate on and pass.
Out of the six million, two million is directly for the at-Risk Youth program, leaving the ministry with four million for over 25 sporting federations.
The reduction comes at a time when the national football team, alongside youth and grassroots programs, needs more funding to develop talents in the country.
Lone Star were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and are still in the World Cup qualifiers. One thing attributed to the team’s poor performances appears to be the issue of limited funds for football.
Some Football stakeholders have expressed hope that lawmakers will see reasons in increasing the allotment for football because many youth have been employed through the teams. They called on the lawmakers to look at the critical role sports play in fostering health, national pride.
Recently Liberia Football Association President Mustapha Raji told a gathering that for the national team to compete with other countries the government needs to invest USD $ 10 million in football.
He said the LFA has put into place programs that will prepare the national teams from youth level to the senior men’s and women’s national team but getting the needed funds is a serious problem.
Meanwhile, the National County Sports Meet allotment has been increased from US$150,000 in 2024 to US$400,000 in the 2025 Draft Budget.
If the County Meet budget will be approved it means the first major increment for the County Meet over seven years.
Also, the Samuel Kanyon Doe (SKD) Stadium has been allocated US$300,000.
The SKD Stadium continues to face restrictions due to a CAF (Confederation of African Football) ban for not meeting international standards. The stadium lacks essential facilities, including floodlights. CAF mandates a minimum lighting capacity of 1200 lux, which the SKD Stadium currently does not meet.
Other notable allocations for sports in the 2025 Draft Budget include US$650,000 for miscellaneous sports programs, US$5,000 for the Inter-School Sports Association (ISSA), US$20,000 for the Ministerial League, and US$5,000 each for basketball, chess, and scrabble federations, among others.
The neglect of adequate funding for sports is being criticized as a failure to prioritize youth development and tackle issues like unemployment.
Despite the influence of several legislators with backgrounds in sports, including former Liberia Football Association presidents Reps. Musa H. Bility, Dixon Siebo, and Senator Edwin Snowe, as well as Senators Momo Cyrus, Jonathan BoyCharles Sogbie, Prince Moye, Numine T.H. Bartekwa, Saah H. Joseph and Cllr. Joseph D. Jallah, the budget for sports remains drastically low.
This has led to accusations of these lawmakers turning a blind eye to the crucial role that sports can play in shaping the future of Liberia’s youth.