Monrovia – The Vice President for Administration of the Liberia Football Association (LFA) Sekou Konneh, is encouraging athletes to combine sports and education.
Professor Konneh said the legs or body retire at 35 years but the mind retires in death.
He was speaking at programs marking the official closing and opening of the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 calendars of the Inter-School Sports Association (ISSA) held at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium (ATS) on Wednesday, December 4, 2019.
Professor Konneh, who is also the Dean of Liberia College at the University of Liberia, lauded ISSA for keeping the dreams alive of high school sports many years after its formation.
“Let’s me first pay my respect to Joseph Willie. He and others conceived what we called ISSA today. I have heard some good and bad stories of ISSA but that’s in the past now.
“Some of us who are here and elsewhere played in the ISSA league. President George Weah, Kelvin Sebwe and James Debbah played in the ISSA league. I was born and grew-up in Soniwein, right behind the ATS. So I fully participated in ISSA activities,” Konneh recalled.
Turning to the educational aspect, Konneh urged all players to see the need to combine sports and education.
“There are many of us, who played sports and still went to school and we are where we are today, God first, but how serious we were. We can only see some of you when the school has a game. That’s not only unfair to the schools that awarded you the scholarships but also to yourself.
“What you don’t know is education breaks barriers. Why if you are not lucky enough to play professional football? What happens if you pick-up a career-ending injury? My name is Sekou Konneh. The little thing I know that is what has been keeping me at the University of Liberia for the last 26 years.
“Another thing I want to stress on is you don’t have to sing rude songs to celebrate or cheer your school. It doesn’t show decency and that you are a student.
Remember to study well and take your lessons seriously because it is not hard to be a wayward youth or ‘zogo’ as we called it now in Liberia,” said Konneh, a veteran football administrator.
The league ended with entertaining matches. In zonal stage, Lambs Academy and First Baptist won the kickball and football titles.
Life Foundation and Faith Academy won the kickball and football trophies in the senior high division.
In the national championship, Point Four and A. Glenn won kickball and football shields in the elementary division while First Baptist won the football title in the junior high.
Bethlehem Baptist won the senior high’s football shield while there were withdrawals for kickball at the junior and senior high levels.
ISSA, under academicals and varsity, is a statutory member of the LFA.