MONROVIA – Members of Liberia’s Deaf National Football Team staged a protest on Thursday, appealing for urgent government intervention over delayed funding they say is threatening their participation in upcoming international competitions.
The team’s leadership reported that critical allotments from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) have remained stalled despite repeated high-level engagements. The financial delay they asserted has placed the senior national team’s participation in the Deaf Africa Cup of Nations, scheduled for April 2026 in Cameroon, in immediate jeopardy. Compounding the crisis is the uncertain status of the Liberia U-23 Deaf team, which is slated to represent the continent at the Deaf U-23 World Championship in Zlatibor, Serbia, this coming May.
Team officials expressed profound frustration, noting that the athletes have remained in rigorous training despite the lack of confirmed travel logistics. The appeal at the President’s residence is seen as a “last-resort” effort to bypass administrative red tape. Supporters of the team have pointed to the Boakai administration’s “ARREST” agenda—which emphasizes agricultural and infrastructural development but also pledges social equity—as the basis for their request for emergency funding.
With the April qualifiers only weeks away, the window for visa processing and flight arrangements is rapidly closing. It seems that failure to settle these allotments would not only demoralize the players but could also result in international sanctions or fines from the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) for late withdrawal.
