Published: August 15, 2025
MONROVIA — The Liberia Football Association will require all players in its national leagues to undergo medical tests on game days before being allowed to play, starting with the 2025-26 season.
LFA President Mustapha Raji announced the policy Tuesday at a press conference in Congo Town, saying the move is part of broader efforts to combat drug use in Liberian football. He said the association’s medical committee will conduct the tests.
“We have gathered information that players are now consuming different kinds of products for performance enhancement,” Raji said. “As a result, the association is working with its medical committee to begin conducting tests in the upcoming season.”
Any player found with banned substances in their system will face sanctions, he added.
Raji stressed that drug abuse is a national crisis affecting not only sports but schools and communities.
“Drugs have destroyed great talents from this country, so as an institution, we need to join hands to avoid it,” he said.
To raise awareness during league matches, the LFA plans to install anti-drug billboards at stadiums and ensure viewers watching online see players walk onto the pitch holding “Say No to Drugs” signs, a symbolic red card against substance abuse.
The announcement comes less than a year after a peaceful protest in Monrovia on Aug. 7, 2024, in which hundreds of Liberians, led by youth groups and elderly women, demanded tougher action against drug trafficking and abuse. Protesters also accused some lawmakers and law enforcement officers of shielding traffickers and undermining enforcement efforts.
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