Monrovia—As Liberia’s national football team prepares for its upcoming African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Togo and Algeria, a former LoneStar goalkeeper and trainer, Nathaniel Sherman, has made a desperate threat to set himself ablaze in protest over unpaid salaries.
By: Christopher C. Walker, [email protected]
Sherman is protesting against the Liberia Football Association (LFA) and the Government of Liberia for their delay in addressing unpaid salaries owed to him and other former technical staff members.
Sherman has issued a stern warning to the government through the Ministry of Youth and Sports. He and others affected are prepared to set themselves on fire to demand the salary and benefits they owe for their service to the national team.
The former goalkeeper trainer, along with the entire backroom staff of former LoneStar head coach Ansu Keita, has been without pay for over three months.
Sherman considers this delay not only unfair but also a severe violation of their rights.
Those owed are former deputy coach, Copper Sannah, physical trainer George Gebro, the team doctor, medical staff, administrative manager, and the kit man.
In a post on the Liberia Football Forum chatroom, Sherman warned that if the government does not settle their payments in the coming days, they will replicate the protest of Archie Ponpon at the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Ponpon, a Liberian activist, infamously set himself on fire in 2020 to protest unpaid salaries.
Sherman revealed that they signed a two-year contract with the LFA to serve as coaches for the national team, but their salaries were consistently delayed, leading up to the termination of their contracts.
According to Sherman, the government owes them five months of back pay, and there has been no effort to resolve the issue.
Sherman, who also played for the national team, suffered a career-ending injury in 2015 when he accidentally walked into a glass door in a hotel lobby, damaging his right eye.
The injury forced him to retire from football at just 24 years old. The incident occurred in Monrovia on September 3, two days before a 2017 AFCON qualifier against Tunisia, in which he was expected to start. Despite undergoing surgery in India, his sight could not be restored.
Expressing his frustration, Sherman wrote, “I am tired of being diplomatic. We are seen as stupid people. If we don’t receive our five months’ arrears, Liberia will experience the recurrence of the Archie Ponpon situation in mass numbers at the Ministry of Youth & Sports. We have been so diplomatic about it, yet absolutely nobody cares to take it seriously. Every day there’s a new story.”
Sherman further explained that whenever they approach the LFA about their unpaid salaries, they are redirected to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and vice versa, leaving them feeling abandoned and disrespected.
“At this point, we don’t care what it’ll cost. We shall get our full arrears (five months) or all of you associated with the payment will live and experience the first-ever football protest, the magnitude of which will never leave your mind,” Sherman warned in the chatroom, which includes football stakeholders and journalists.
LFA President Mustapha Raji recently confirmed in a media engagement that both the LFA and the Government of Liberia have yet to pay the former technical staff of the national team.
Mr. Raji acknowledged that while the government had managed to pay three months’ salary to the current technical staff before their departure to Togo, efforts are still being made to secure funds to settle the outstanding payments for those who worked under Ansu Keita.
“We are still pushing to get money to pay the previous support staff and coaches that worked with Ansu Keita because it’s about continuity, and we are hoping that the government can look into that,” Raji stated.
When contacted, Deputy Youth and Sports Minister G. Andy Quamie claimed he was unaware of the situation.
Deputy Minister Quamie’s words: “Firstly, he doesn’t have any contract with the Ministry of Youth & Sports. Secondly, if he feels aggrieved, the Court of the land is here. Writing on Facebook doesn’t solve any problem.”
Meanwhile, FrontPage Africa has learned that the Minister of Youth and Sports is expected to meet with the aggrieved former national team coaches and technical staff next week to discuss a solution to the issue.
