Monrovia – The Sports Writers Association of Liberia(SWAL) has received a huge financial boost from the Liberia Football Association.
SWAL, on Tuesday benefited from the FIFA Covid-19 relief funds by collecting a check of US$2,500 from the LFA as the first payment of the FIFA Relief funds.
The fund which was approved by FIFA is intended to help the football Community impacted by COVID 19 with all member associations getting one million United States Dollars into phases.
According to the LFA the pen pushers are a key partner to football development and see no reason why they should not benefit from such money.
According to the disbursement plan of the funds SWAL will receive a total of US$5,680 from the combined FIFA and CAF Covid-19 relief funds.
The remaining payments will be made when FIFA transferred the balance US$500,000 in January 2021 and CAF made available its US$300,000.
Since the leadership of SWAL was inducted on August 14, 2020, SWAL has bagged over 3,000 United States dollars and over 200,000 Liberian dollars as financial contribution from various stakeholders.
After receiving the check from the LFA SWAL President Kolubah Zayzay said the relief funds came at the right time.
“We are just taking over and we see this contribution as huge because it is going to get us started with some of the immediate programs we have planned,”
“We have been thinking [about] how we could source out money for those programs. With this [fund], it will get us running while we run after other funding. So we are very overwhelmed with this and it is a huge blessing to this administration,” said Zayzay, who was inaugurated on 14 August.
Kolubah, who served as secretary-general of SWAL for the past five years, said he can’t remember SWAL receiving direct FIFA funds from the LFA in his many years as an active sports journalist.
“Honestly, our minds were off completely because football money is for football people although we rubbed shoulders in partnering with them and promoting them,”
“It was never on our minds that we could be captured and considered. So it was a total surprise when we saw the distribution list and our name appeared. So we are really really happy with the decision taken by the LFA,” added Zayzay.
In another development two members of the Executive Committee of the Liberia Football Association, Wilmot Smith,Vice President for Operations and Pepci Quiwu Yeke Chair on competitions wednesday August 26, 2020 fulfilled the promise by presenting ten modern voice recorders to the leadership of SWAL.
The presentation was in fulfillment of a pledge made to the pen pushers during the just ended induction ceremony.
Speaking during the presentation EC, Pepci Quiwu Yeke said the gesture was their way of supporting the new leadership and promised to do more in order to empower members of SWAL.
He said support to SWAL is key in order to help promote the game including other activities of the LFA.
His statement was also buttressed by LFA’s VPO Wilmot Smith who encouraged SWAL members to remain focus and unite for the common good of the Association.
“The League needs to be covered and we have no doubt that the current leadership will perform in line with the mandate for which they were elected“, noted Wilmot Smith.
According to Mr. Smith, the LFA is an integral part of SWAL as such they will remain supportive of the work and activities of the new leadership and the entire membership as a whole.
As part of fulfilling their commitment in full, the two executives of the LFA also made available their pledge in check in the tune of $LRD200,000.00 as members and officials of SWAL shower praises on them for their good and initial support to the Association.
Yekeh added that as part of their commitment, they have also agreed to allot some of their honorary to SWAL to beef up the Organization operations.
He, however, stressed the need for accountability and transparency in promoting the welfare of SWAL members and sports at large.
In a happy mood SWAL President, Kolubah Zayzay lauded the efforts of the two officials of the LFA.
Mr. Zayzay said the donation will now help further enhance their capacity building and decentralization programs respectively.
“We will use these modern recorders wisely especially presenting them to our members in the rural areas after the completion of our training and I am sure it will give them added motivation to do their work“ , the SWAL boss indicated.
He then used the occasion to extend thanks and appreciation to Mr. Yeke and Mr. Smith for putting smiles on the faces of his members.
The SWAL president encouraged other stakeholders in the sector to follow the good example of the two LFA’s executives in order to promote the beautiful game in Liberia.
Since the new leadership of SWAL took over nearly a month ago, fulfilling commitments and pledges by stakeholders have been forthcoming, something President Zayzay described as a good sign for a new and rebranded SWAL but however urged others to follow suit.
SWAL is one of the auxiliaries groups of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), the umbrella body for Liberian journalists.
