By Paul Nicholson
March 21 – Outgoing Liberia FA (LFA) president Musa Bility has petitioned FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino not to release the findings of an audit of the LFA in December last year.
Bility, who boasts he has a close relationship with Infantino, and was one of the African chiefs instrumental in deposing former African Confederation (CAF) president Issa Hayatou (an enemy of Infantino), is supporting Musa Shannon for the LFA presidency.
Shannon was one of the LFA’s executive committee that has admitted to sharing in $50,000 of FIFA funds that were sent for the fight against Ebola in the country. Shannon was given $1,500.
Release of the audit report would likely detail these discrepancies and question Shannon’s eligibility on integrity grounds – in most federations he would immediately be banned from standing, but Liberia seems to operate for the most part unchecked and outside accepted football federation guidelines and practices. The fact that FIFA was compelled to send an audit team in itself marked a change in attitude from the governing body, but it comes with a further test of whether the admitted fraud by Liberia’s top officials is swept under the carpet.
Bility is anxious for Shannon to be elected as Shannon would protect his own position as a senior vice president – LFA insiders say this would effectively mean Bility would still be calling the shots at the federation and still moving in international circles with the Liberian vote.
Currently there are five declared candidates for the LFA presidency: Musa Shannon, Rochell Woodson, Mustapha Raji, Adolphus Dolo and George Solo. Woodson has threatened to withdraw unless the statutory violations of the electoral process (of which there appear to be many) are corrected and there is full electoral transparency, not least in the involvement of Bility in electioneering.
Liberia’s national president, football legend George Weah, is understood to support Raji for the LFA presidency. Raji has previously been a member of the LFA executive committee but was expelled from the committee. He is president of first division club LISCR FC and an advocate of more government involvement in the running of the sport in the country.
The current LFA presidential vote is scheduled for April 14, a date that in itself breaks the LFA statutes which state the LFA executive committee must notify Congress at least 60 days before an ordinary Congress is held. In this case 51 days notice were given.
There are 39 votes at congress: 12 clubs in the first division, 14 clubs in the second division and seven clubs in women’s football, plus six affiliates members.
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