The Orange-sponsored and heavily anticipated National County Sports Meet kicked off to a great start over the weekend. On Saturday, participating counties, officials and fans kicked of the festivities with a major parade through the principal streets of Monrovia, followed by the opening match between Montserrado County and Maryland County.
The kickoff parade was led by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Dester Zeogar Wilson, the Superintendent of Montserrado as well as a host of dignitaries and fans. The Minister referred to the County Meet as the “great unifier of Liberians”, and extended thanks and appreciation to Orange for being a partner and key sponsor of the games. Minister Wilson said, “We thank Orange for its tremendous support to the government of Liberia and sports in general.”
The opening match between host Montserrado County and Maryland County was held on Saturday at the Antionette Tubman Stadium. The well attended opening match was graced by the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Nathaniel McGill, who represented the Liberian Head of State, H.E. Dr. George Manneh Weah. Montserrado defeated Maryland 3 goals to 1.
Ahead of the Group “C” match between Sinoe and Nimba County, Sinoe County Port Director, Alex Nyuwon, hailed the launch of the county meet as an overwhelming and exciting moment in Liberia. He said, “The county meet is one way that we as a people can get together as one unified Liberia. The county meet is one of the ways Liberians can converge and reconcile.” T. Maxwell Grisby, Chairman of the National Small Arms Commission, reiterated the importance of the county meet, stating that there was a great need for all Liberians to come together under one identity.
Orange Liberia remains the largest supporter of soccer in Liberia. In addition to financial support for the National Sports County Meet, Orange is also providing promotional support, including printing and providing high security tickets for the various County Meet games. The company noted that ticket sales and sale locations will be announced shortly, and encouraged fans to visit its Facebook page for more information via the link: www.facebook.com/orangelib.