Skip to main content

Thomas Kojo’s Threat of Legal Action against the LFA

The Liberia Football Association recently, and without holding any discussion with those involved, terminated the contracts of four coaches, including James Salinsa Debbah of the senior national team, Thomas Kojo and his deputy Janjay Jacobs of the U23 national team and Chris Wreh of the U20 national soccer team.
Though the contents of the contract were not made public, making it difficult to know what action the aggrieved coaches could pursue, Thomas Kojo has reportedly threatened to seek fair play in court.
The LFA’s decision was based on a discussion with the Ministry of Youth & Sports.
And this is where the issue of unfairness comes in. The LFA knows the importance of fair play in its dealings with players and coaches and therefore one would think that in dealing with Liberian coaches, it would have played fair with them.
What makes the situation more unfair is that the LFA owes those affected coaches eight months in arrears. But before canceling their contracts, the LFA did not and could not raise funds enough to cover the arrears, which also makes the situation more depressing.
However, while there might be a plausible reason for canceling the contracts, the manner of terminating them was just bad and showed lack of respect for professionals contracted to work for Liberia.
But let me point out that for what the LFA has done to the coaches, it would appear that the LFA felt it was doing them a favor by appointing them to head the various national associations, and they too felt they could reciprocate the LFA’s generosity by performing well in their respective positions.
The LFA said the contracts were terminated because Liberia is not engaged in any competition until 2018 and also due to difficulties the LFA is facing to secure funding for the national teams’ programs.
Do the national teams have programs? The last time I checked, the only programs were ‘friendly international matches’ in the most dangerous parts of the world. Recall that the senior national team, Lone Star, played a friendly international match on May 30, 2013, with the Iraqi national team in Baghdad for an unspecified sum of money.
So far, we are not aware of any programs for the various national soccer teams and therefore the excuse used by the LFA to terminate the coaches’ contracts is weak.
The LFA said the decision was not based on the coaches’ past performances, even though the U20 and U23 teams are yet to participate in any tournament. It is only the home-based senior national team that recently played in the WAFU Tournament in Ghana. And so the question is: why are the U23 and U20 teams not being kept busy? The obvious answer is ‘No money.’
Since the LFA was aware of the lack of money to develop the youth national teams, why did the LFA appointed the coaches in the first place? The coaches should have also known that what has happened would have happened someday. Why? What do their contracts say in the event of premature termination, as is the current case? The answer to that question will furnish them some possibility of success in any legal solution against the LFA.
But in fact the coaches could explore other avenues, like the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS), should the LFA refuse to correct what is wrong in the current case. In the end, the coaches should realize that once the LFA thinks it is doing them a favor by employing them, the same unfair play might return in the future.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

President George Weah's One Day National Forum Successfully Attended by 26 Political Parties

On Thursday, August 8, 2018, President George Weah had a sit down with 26 political parties of Liberia.  The meeting aimed at advancing ideals that promote the spirit of national unity and political tolerance between opposition political parties and the government.  ANC, LP and UP attended the meeting as a team. According to Deputy Minister Eugene L. Fahngon, Deputy Minister for Press and Public Affairs at Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism, all 26 political parties attended and participated from start to finish.  Even though, social media was buzzing about AB Dillion walking out of the meeting, he walked out as an individual and not a political party, "the invitation was extended to political parties and not to individuals," Minister Fahngon stated in his live video.  Each political party gave ideals and recommendations, which made the meeting a great success.  According to  Deputy Minister Fahngon, "there will be future engagements as such.&quo

Liberia: Top 7 Iconic Music Videos Directed by Jackie Russ

​By Robert Serge Saint-Pe Alex Nyenga, alias, Jackie Russ has enjoyed a seven-year stint as a videographer which has put him behind the camera of numerous memorable Liberian music videos, earning him several nominations and awards. He has again proven himself as a top-notch video director over the past months, which has landed him nominations for the 2021 MTN – Liberian Music Awards (MLMA) for Best Music Videographer and the 2021 Liberian Entertainment Awards (LEA) for Video Director of The Year.  Even if Jackie Russ is not a familiar face, he is definitely a household name who has worked with many top Liberian artists and influential celebrities. One of his unhighlighted gesture is that he gifted Caroline M. Moore, better known as MC Caro with her first ever music video for her song “Bring Our Money Back” in 2018. Here is a look at the top seven iconic music videos directed by Jackie Russ. 7. Christoph Ft. Margas – Hold Your Polaruh (2016) “Hold Your Polaruh” was directed by Christoph

Foreign Ward marries the mother of his child: gives her a beautiful tribute on social media

Foreign Ward and Lorpu Kollie On August 28, 2016, Liberian rapper, Foreign Ward pulled out his heart on social media, confessing his appreciation for his bride, Mrs. Lorpu Kollie.  The newlywed tied the knot on August 20, 2016.  To put a little gossip on the cake, Lorpu is the ex of Hipco artist, Rawpekin.  Rumor has it, Rawpekin was very heartbroken during the break up.  Well, there is a happy ending to all this, a wedding. Check out some photos from the wedding and Foreign beautiful tribute.   "I remember being dead broke with no job and she cared for me and loved me. I remember her sleeping in the car with me because I didn't have a place to stay at the moment, but she never complained or made me feel less of a man. I knew she would be the woman I spend the rest of my life with, because I told myself if I don't LOVE, CHERISH & MARRY this woman, I will be the biggest fool on this planet. My life story is deeper than what you guys see on social media.