Liberian Basketball Faces Legal Threat over Unpaid Debts, Diggs Says

Published: October 22, 2025

Monrovia — The Liberia Basketball Association is facing legal threats from hotel operators and an airline ticketing provider over unpaid debts totaling more than $100,000, Secretary General Calvin Diggs said Sunday.

Diggs told The Liberian Investigator that the association owes four hotels — Royal Grand Hotel, Cape Hotel, Mama Point Hotel and King’s Hotel — along with an airline ticketing firm for services used during international tournaments earlier this year.

“We are under serious threat from those people, and they want to take us to court,” Diggs said in a phone interview from Ivory Coast.

He said the LBA submitted a $60,000 budget to the Ministry of Youth and Sports more than two months ago, prior to traveling for the AfroBasketball competition in Rwanda.

The ministry forwarded the request to Finance Minister Augustine Ngafuan, but Diggs said no action has been taken.

“We submitted the budget before leaving, and we returned weeks ago. Yet, we haven’t received a dime from the Government of Liberia,” he said.

Documents obtained by The Liberian Investigator confirm the budget submission and referral but show no evidence of disbursement.

Diggs added that players and officials who represented Liberia in tournaments held in Liberia and Rwanda have not received their per diem due to the financial shortfall.

He called on the government to release the allotted funds to settle the association’s debts and avoid further reputational damage.

Oilers Eliminated From BAL Qualifiers

In a separate development related to the game of basketball in the country, Liberia’s basketball champions, LPRC Oilers, were eliminated from the 2026 Basketball Africa League qualifiers over the weekend following consecutive losses in Abidjan.

Oilers fell 75-69 to Benin’s Ellan Coton in their opening match and were defeated 68-58 by Ghana’s Spintex Knights on Saturday, ending their campaign.

Coach Varfley Corneh attributed the team’s performance to inexperience.

“Turnovers and missed shots were the turning “point in the game,” Corneh said. “Moreover, this is our first time participating — those teams have been here more than us.”