Published: September 12, 2026
MONROVIA — President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. has set a US$10 million target to fund the Lone Star’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign and build a player development structure across all 15 counties, asking banks, telecommunications companies and concessionaires to become long-term partners rather than one-off sponsors.
Boakai announced the target Friday night at a fundraising dinner for the national team, saying the money should be judged by what it builds and not by what it covers.
“There is a difference between funding a football team and building a football nation,” Boakai said. “Tonight, I am asking us to build the football nation.”
The president said the funds would go toward preparation, travel and technical needs for the AFCON campaign, along with youth national teams, women’s football, coaching, competitions, facilities and grassroots development.
Liberia’s problem is not a shortage of players but the absence of systems to identify, develop and monitor them consistently, Boakai said, pointing to talent in Nimba, Sinoe, Lofa and Maryland.
“Talent is everywhere in Liberia,” he said.
He called for a national development structure running from community football through district and county competitions to the national and professional levels, and said the country must stop relying on its football history to produce results.
Boakai commended the Liberia Football Association for establishing the National Football Academy with support from FIFA’s Talent Development Scheme, saying it was an important step toward a continuous pipeline for young players. He also praised Bea Mountain Corp. for plans to build two football academies in Liberia.
He urged concessionaires in particular to invest in sports and youth programs in the communities where they operate, saying those programs could surface future Lone Star players, and said the government, the LFA, the private sector, development partners and communities would have to work together for the system to hold.
“If we raise $10 million and use it only to address today’s needs, we may solve today’s problems,” Boakai said. “But if we invest strategically in developing players, training coaches, improving facilities, organizing competitions and identifying talent, we begin solving tomorrow’s problems as well.”
Boakai said a player’s county or community should not determine how far his or her talent goes, and that the national team carries more than a result.
“When our players walk onto the pitch, they carry our flag, our identity and the hopes of millions of Liberians,” he said.
“When the Lone Star rises, Liberia rises,” he said.
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