Published: April 27, 2026
MONROVIA — A Liberian government sports delegation arrived in France this week for a series of meetings with French sports officials, federations and private institutions, with securing a football academy investment at the top of its agenda.
The delegation is led by Youth and Sports Minister Cornelia Wonkerleh Kruah and includes Deputy Minister for Sports G. Andy Quamie, representatives from the Liberia Football Association, the Liberia Basketball Association and other national sports stakeholders. The visit was arranged following an invitation from Liberia’s Ambassador to France, Teeko Yorlay Sr.
Minister Kruah is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with her French counterpart, Minister of Sports, Youth and Community Life Marina Ferrari, in what both sides have framed as an opportunity to deepen cooperation in sports and youth development between the two countries.
The delegation’s schedule also includes meetings with Ya’ats Sports Establishment, Bourges FC, the club associated with Senegalese football star Sadio Mané, and major French sporting federations covering handball, basketball, volleyball, and judo. The delegation will additionally meet with Edward Donnelly of the French National Olympic Committee.
The most closely watched engagement will be with Ya’ats Sports Establishment, which is reportedly weighing the establishment of a football academy in Liberia. Securing that commitment is described as a primary objective of the trip, and would represent one of the more concrete foreign investments in Liberian sports infrastructure in recent years.
The itinerary extends beyond athletics. The delegation is scheduled to tour youth-focused development facilities, including an artificial intelligence startup and the Voltaic solar panel training center, reflecting a broader government interest in linking sports diplomacy to youth economic opportunity. Minister Kruah is also expected to grant an interview to Télésud TV during the visit.
The delegation will engage with Liberian Embassy officials in Paris throughout the trip, including Deputy Chief of Mission Emmanuel Saye Larmah and pro bono sports liaison Mohammed Diallo, a France-based Liberian scout who has been appointed Lone Star coordinator for Western Europe.
Diallo’s appointment was confirmed by Luther Tarpeh, chairman of the Lone Star Mobilization Committee. In the role, Diallo will coordinate diaspora outreach, support resource mobilization for Liberia’s national team and serve as the primary communication link between diaspora groups and regional football leadership. He recently attended Liberia’s international friendlies in Morocco, where he met with key stakeholders in Liberian football, and is playing a central role in the effort to bring the Ya’ats academy project to Liberia.
Liberia has intensified its international sports engagement as the country prepares for upcoming continental and global competitions. The France visit is the most high-profile diplomatic sports mission the ministry has undertaken in the current administration.
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