MONROVIA — Liberia Athletics Federation (LAF) President Mulbah Zaza is calling on the government to reevaluate the structure and identity of the National County Sports Meet, criticizing the continued exclusion of athletics from the annual tournament and questioning whether it should still be considered a truly “national” sporting event.
In an exclusive interview with The Liberian Investigator, Zaza said that labeling the event a National County Sports Meet is misleading when only football and kickball are consistently prioritized.
“The winner of the tournament should be determined by the number of trophies or points from the various sporting disciplines,” he argued. “Why do they call it a National County Sports Meet when only the football winner is recognized?”
Zaza recalled that in previous editions, the overall champions were determined by cumulative performances across multiple disciplines. He urged the Ministry of Youth and Sports to revisit that format and mandate counties to field teams in other sports, especially track and field.
“It is a disservice to other sports when only the football winners are considered the winners of the County Meet,” he said.
Zaza also challenged the government’s oft-repeated claim that the tournament creates short-term jobs and promotes youth empowerment. He questioned how such goals can be achieved if only two disciplines are supported.
“We say we want to provide short-term empowerment opportunities for young people and discover new talents during the County Meet, but we only focus on kickball and football,” he said.
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The LAF president clarified that his concern is not about sidelining football or kickball, but rather about equity and the missed opportunity to showcase and support disciplines like athletics, which have brought international glory to Liberia.
“If the government does not invest in sports, it will be a disfavor to young people, many of whom are going wayward on a daily basis,” Zaza said. “We think if we can create a platform that these children can be absorbed into, we can go a long way in resolving the issues of drugs and children in the streets.”
He emphasized the values instilled by athletics–discipline, health consciousness, and drug-free lifestyles.
“When you do athletics, you don’t drink, you don’t smoke,” he said. “We always teach our athletes about drugs and their harmful nature. We call it anti-doping.”
Zaza also celebrated the recent international success of Liberian-American sprinter Thelma Davies, who set a new national record in the women’s 100 meters with a blistering time of 10.91 seconds at the World Athletics Continental Tour in the Czech Republic. Davies edged out Ivorian sprint icon Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, who clocked 10.92 seconds.
Zaza hailed Davies as one of the world’s premier athletes, noting her rise to seventh in the global rankings.
“With athletes like Thelma Davies, Joseph Fahnbulleh, Ebony Morrison and the rest, it is clear that athletics is Liberia’s best sport and should be supported at all times by the government,” he said.
