SKD, Paynesville – Due to the national team’s consistently bad performance, Liberian football supporters demonstrated at the SKD sports patch in Paynesville and demanded the resignation of LFA president Mustapha Raji and the sacking of coach Ansu Keita. Following two defeats in their initial games for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifications at the SKD, Liberians were once again disappointed with the performance of their National Soccer Team under Coach Ansu Keita.
The team’s chances of competing in the next World Cup are still slim, as they fell 1-0 to Equatorial Guinea and Malawi on Friday, November 17, 2023, and Monday, November 20, 2023, respectively. Coach Ansu Keita was told, following Friday’s loss, to skip Monday’s match against Equatorial Guinea, with Cooper Sannah, his direct assistant, leading the team in his place.
The team’s losses to Equatorial Guinea and Malawi were both 1-0. But three times during those games, football supporters protested at the SKD. One of the demonstrations took place at the media center, preventing the coach from speaking to the media during Friday’s Lone Star defeat.
The protesters demanded the immediate dismissal of Lone Star coach Ansu Keita and the resignation of Liberia Football Association President Mustapha Raji.
They argued that the poor performance of the national team under the leadership of Mr. Raji is something that should also claim the attention of football stakeholders and the Liberian populace. The leader of one of the protests, Yudu Miller, told journalists on the scene that they are on a one-month joining to see to it that Mr. Raji vacates the LFA.
“We are not stopping here with our protest; we are going everywhere that Mr. Raji works to tell the Liberian people that he has failed.”
The former FC Fassell secretary general admitted that under Mustapha I Raji’s direction, football is dying; in his opinion, something needs to be done about it. Mr. Miller stated that it is only reasonable that the football house be salvaged right away in order to prevent further embarrassment, given that Liberia is currently placed 151st in the world in the FIFA World Rankings.
As he related the unfair ban that was imposed on him, he also stated how the current LFA boss was adopting what he called a dictatorship style of leadership. Yudu claimed that the LFA violated his rights by preventing him from using any of the facilities that its organization oversees without following the proper procedures.
“Today, I’m no longer watching football games in Liberia because of the so-called ban being placed on me by the LFA.”
Reported by: Sylvester Tamba
Contact: +231776687195
