The President of the Republic, H.E. Dr. George Manneh Weah, Wednesday, April 7, 2021 dedicated TUSA Sports Pitch in Gardnersville, outside Monrovia, and thanked the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) for funding the refurbishment of the field.
The Liberian Chief Patron of Sports extolled the President of FIFA for the numerous support his organization continues to provide for the development of football in Liberia.
President Weah also hailed the leadership of the Liberia Football Association (LFA), headed by Mustapha Raji, for the splendid leadership style and the commitment to upgrading Liberian football.
He said he was exceptionally glad working the team at the LFA because they share his vision to develop football by working closely with FIFA.
The President said he was excited and proud to dedicate TUSA Football Field, one of the many lumpy pitches he played on in the 1980s, leading to his stardom in world football.
According to him, the refurbishment of TUSA Field is part of the plan by his administration to refurbish every football field that he played on growing up in the football arena.
Dr. Weah, the only African Ballon d’Or so far, used the occasion to emphasize the need for Liberia, Africa’s oldest independent nation, to host the Africa Cup of Nations.
“There is a need for Liberia to host the African Cup of Nations as the oldest independent African nation,” Dr. Weah said.
President Weah however noted that doing so is contingent first on the development of the game, particularly the building of modern sports facilities.
He asserted further that on-going improvement of football facilities by FIFA aligns with his vision to develop Liberian football.
In a related development, the Doris Williams sports pitch in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, is said to be ready for footballing action following a formal turning over by Greenfields BV on April 6, 2021.
Led by project engineer Franclin Ngwese Ngabe, Greenfields turned over a pitch with artificial turf, two mobile goalposts, a tractor to clean the turf and spare nets at a ceremony attended by Liberia Football Association (LFA) President, Mustapha Raji, Vice President Wilmot Smith, executive committee members Beatrice Korpo Kpoto, Henry Boyd Flomo, Ivan Brown, Nyemah Nyanway and Kelvin Bayoh, and Sports Minister D. Zeogar Wilson.
Before the turning over ceremony, Raji was gowned as “Chief of Football” in Grand Bassa County while Minister Wilson and Momo Harris,LFA sub-association chairman in the county, were also honored for their contributions to football and sports by the presidents of third divisions and community league clubs.
Raji disclosed that President George Manneh Weah will formally dedicate/commission the field before a ball is kicked.