Monrovia – The Ministry of Youth and Sports has refuted rumors that the delayed national County Sports Meet will kick off in March.
The Communication Director at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Oxford Browne, told FrontPage Africa’s sports desk that at no time has the ministry released a new date for the national County Sports Meet.
Mr. Browne’s statement comes following news that the biggest sporting event will kick off on March 16, 2024. Several online platforms reported on Thursday that the Ministry of Youth and Sports has set March 16 as the new tentative kickoff date for the 2023/2024 National County Sports Meet of Liberia.
The online platforms also disclosed that discussions are being held to have Montserrado serve as the sole host for the entire tournament – from the preliminary rounds up to the grand final, unlike previous versions where the group games were played across different selected host venues around the country.
But in response to the news, NYS Communication Director Brown said the new Minister Cole Bangalu has not discussed a date for the national event. “We are now having discussions with the technicians on how to organize this tournament, but a date has not been set. When we conclude all the technical details for the tournament, the minister will address the public on the issue,” Oxford Brown told FrontPage Africa’s sports desk.
He said the ministry is aware that Liberians want the County meet to be played, but they are organizing well to have a successful tournament under the new government. It can be recalled that the much-anticipated 2023/2024 National County Sports Meet suffered a setback a day before the official kickoff following the government of Liberia’s postponement of the biggest sporting festival in Liberia.
River Gee County was named the official host County of the 2023-2024 National County Sports Meet, which was expected to kick off on Saturday, December 16, 2023, but then Sports Minister D. Zeogar Wilson informed the various counties that the tournament was postponed.
According to the organizers, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the tournament was scheduled to kick off on December 16 and was expected to end on January 14, eight days before the official inauguration of the new government headed by Ambassador Joseph Boakai.
The annual sports festival aims to unite the people of Liberia and is played among the 15 subdivisions of the country. Its objective is to scout talents for the various national teams of Liberia, and such objectives are key to sports development and peace promotion.
But in a statement issued late Friday evening, Minister Wilson said the decision to postpone the sporting festival was based on precedent. “In 2017, the transitional team of then-President-elect George Manneh Weah requested the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf government to kindly leave the Hosting of the National County Sports Meet for the Weah-led Government to host, and Madam Sirleaf’s government agreed.” “In the same vein, the Transitional Team of President-elect Joseph Nyuma Boakai had made a similar request, and President George Weah has accepted,” the Sports Minister said. The Sports Ministry, however, apologized for any inconvenience the decision may have caused counties and supporters.