Unless the necessary programs are put in place and soccer politics and personal interests are put aside, those who control soccer and the national soccer teams will continue to dishonor Liberia.

The Liberian Football Association continues to create the avenues for more beatings of our various national teams. Over the weekend, the senior and under-23 teams suffered heavy defeats in two international soccer competitions.

In Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, senior Lone Star fell 2-4 to Cape Verde on Saturday 26 March. Another misfortune for Liberian football came on Sunday March 27 when the Under-23s suffered a humiliating loss to legacy Ivory Coast Under-23s in Accra in the London 2012 Olympic qualifiers.

Liberia was thrashed 0-4 by the Ivorians. The country conceded a total of eight goals in two days in two international matches. Such a horrible football image for Liberia could only be attributed to the inability of the current Liberia Football Association or LFA administration headed by Musa Bility.

Our football authority could not plan or prepare because they had nothing to prepare, so they had nothing to implement as a nation on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 March 2011 in Cape Verde and Ghana.

The road to London 2012 for Liberia has been met with numerous setbacks ahead of the final against the Ivory Coast after regulation time.

Lone Star Under-23’s first setback was experienced during a tie between Jubilee FC and Nimba FC, when Nimba FC’s Sam Johnson was injured from a tackle on Jubilee FC’s defender.

The action ruled the U-23 striker out of the Lone Star youth team’s game played in Ghana against the Ivory Coast on Sunday (March 27). The second setback for Lone Star Under-23s came when Israel guard winger Patrick Doeplah died Tuesday morning in Monrovia, after arriving in Liberia for a one-day training session with the team, before heading to Ghana. Lone Star Under-23s were pleased with the arrival of Liberian American Under-20 striker Alex Nimo to replace the late Patrick Doeplah.

The team landed in Ghana on Thursday, they have been informed that Nimo will not play for Liberia, until the correct document is in place. The team was left in the hands of Sekou Jabateh, he did his best, but they still lost.

The Liberian Football Association has confirmed the death scene of Patrick Doeplah, the Israel-based Liberian striker who met his untimely death on Tuesday morning.

The LFA in a statement issued on Wednesday March 23, 2011, said the player died at his girlfriend’s house on Old Road, a suburb of Monrovia and not in a hotel room as previously stated.

The medical report citing Dr. Brisbane says that Patrick died on the morning of Tuesday, March 22, 2011 upon arrival at the JFK Medical Center in Monrovia, where he was taken by friends.

According to the LFA: “He had spent the night of March 21 at his fiancée’s house on the Old Road within hours of arriving in the country from Israel to be part of the Under-23 national delegation to Ghana to face Ivory. Coast on Sunday.”

Football House says the Government has launched an inquiry into the circumstances leading to Patrick Doeplah’s death. The LFA says it is also sponsoring a full autopsy of the player’s remains to determine the basis of his death.

According to a statement signed by LFA spokesman Henry Flomo, the LFA wishes the player’s family to take comfort in Almighty God during the mourning period. Football House says the loss of Doeplah is colossal for the nation’s plan to enhance the potential of young players.

Meanwhile, the LFA will open a book of condolences at 12 noon on Thursday March 24, 2011 at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia; will be preceded by a major press conference.

All football lovers, officials, media and LFA members are expected to attend. Liberian leader and main sponsor of sports, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, gave the LFA $20,000 in support of Liberia’s national soccer teams.

The President also wishes the victory of the national team on its journey to the Ivory Coast and Cape Verde. Revealing this on Wednesday, LFA president Musa Bility said Football House is grateful to the president for the gesture. He said the amount will help boost player morale.