Published: April 29, 2025
The Ministry of Youth and Sports, chief organizer of the annual National County Sports Meet, has released the groupings for the 2025-26 edition of the tournament.
At an unusual ceremony held at the VIP entrance of the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex over the weekend, the ministry announced that the official opening program will be held in Harper City, Maryland County. The zonal stage of the annual sporting festival is scheduled to commence on Dec. 14, 2025.
Athletics (track and field), volleyball, scrabble, chess and several other disciplines — including women’s football — remain sidelined. As usual, kickball, football and basketball are expected to be featured.
As one of the deliverables of the government of Liberia, the County Meet is intended to provide short-term employment opportunities for young people, mainly athletes and technicians from over 25 sporting disciplines. However, contrary to this goal, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has consistently focused on empowering athletes from only three traditional sports, continuously omitting others.
Officials have repeatedly justified the omission of other disciplines by citing inadequate funding from the government.
On two occasions, the Liberia Football Association used some of its operational funds to organize exhibition matches for women’s football during the County Meet. According to LFA third vice president and head of women’s football, Madam Jodie-Seton Reid, the goal was to encourage the government to formally include women’s football in the tournament.
In a recent interview, Madam Reid lamented the government’s continued failure to recognize the importance of including women’s football, despite significant investments made by the LFA to promote the sport nationwide.
“We now have more than 1,000 girls playing football across the country. More and more girls are becoming interested; they, too, need to be empowered,” Reid said.
She further noted that the County Meet provides a major platform for young athletes, and that girls playing football deserve the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Meanwhile, Liberia’s best-performing sport on the international stage — athletics — has again been omitted, despite continued efforts from the Liberia Athletics Federation to engage local athletes year-round.
Lack of Funding
Youth and Sports Minister Cole Bangalu said more than $1 million is needed to successfully organize the tournament, which is also aimed at promoting national unity.
For the last edition, the Legislature approved $180,000. The amount was increased to $400,000 in the 2025 fiscal year, raising expectations that additional disciplines would be included.
Groupings Announced Eight Months Ahead
For the first time, the ministry released the groupings eight months before the tournament’s commencement date.
Speaking at the event, Minister Bangalu said the early announcement is intended to give ample time for host counties to prepare for the tournament.
He named Maryland, Nimba, Grand Bassa and Gbarpolu as the host counties for the group stage.
Lofa County is the defending champion in football and basketball, while Grand Bassa County won the kickball category.
Full Groupings:
Group A
Maryland County (Host)
Rivercess County
Grand Kru County
River Gee County
Group B
Nimba County (Host)
Bomi County
Sinoe County
Margibi County
Group C
Grand Bassa County (Host)
Lofa County
Grand Gedeh County
Grand Cape Mount County
Group D
Gbarpolu County (Host)
Bong County
Montserrado County
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