–President Calls for Long-Term Football Development as Government Raises Player Incentives and AFCON Fundraising Campaign Nets More Than US$3 Million
MONROVIA, Liberia — President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. has called for a fundamental shift in the way Liberia develops and supports its national football team, urging stakeholders to build a “consistent and competitive” Lone Star capable of competing successfully on the continental stage.
The President made the call Saturday evening at the Executive Pavilion in Monrovia during a fundraising dinner organized to mobilize financial and institutional support for Liberia’s campaign to qualify for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The event brought together government officials, business leaders, football stakeholders, members of the diplomatic community and other supporters of Liberian football, with organizers targeting US$10 million to finance the Lone Star’s qualification campaign and broader preparations. By the end of the rally, organizers reported that a little over US$3 million had been raised.
The fundraising drive comes as Liberia prepares for a difficult AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign in Group K alongside Mali, Cape Verde and Rwanda. The qualifiers begin later this month, with Liberia scheduled to face Rwanda away on September 25 before hosting Mali on September 29.
Boakai: Talent Is Not Liberia’s Problem
Addressing the gathering, President Boakai said Liberia’s longstanding football challenge has not been a shortage of talented players, but the absence of a sustained system capable of identifying, developing and supporting that talent.
“When we invest in sports, we invest in our young people, and when we invest in our young people, we invest in the future of Liberia.”
The President said Liberia cannot build its sporting future merely by celebrating the accomplishments of past generations.
Instead, he argued that the country must establish systems capable of producing new generations of elite footballers.
“Our problem has never been the absence of talent. Our challenge has been building the system necessary to find, develop, and support the talent,” President Boakai said.
His remarks underscore an increasingly prominent theme in Liberia’s football debate: that returning to the AFCON finals will require more than short-term fundraising around individual qualifying matches.
Liberia last appeared at the AFCON finals in 2002, and the 2027 campaign represents an opportunity to end more than two decades away from Africa’s premier national-team tournament. The 2027 finals will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
Government Raises Player Incentives
The Boakai administration has also increased financial incentives for members of the Lone Star as part of efforts to improve player welfare and motivate the national team ahead of the qualifiers.
Under the revised package, the players’ match appearance fee has been increased from US$1,000 to US$2,500, while the winning bonus has also been increased from US$1,000 to US$2,500.
The adjustment is intended to take effect immediately as Liberia begins its AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign.
The move follows earlier calls from the Liberia Football Association and the Ministry of Youth and Sports for improved financial support for the national team. In August, Youth and Sports Minister Cornelia Wonkerleh Kruah disclosed that the LFA was seeking an increase in match appearance fees to US$2,500, alongside improved accommodation and travel arrangements.
The financial push is also aimed at addressing the broader cost of Liberia’s six-match qualifying campaign, including three home and three away fixtures, stadium requirements, travel, accommodation and other logistical needs.
US$10 Million Target Falls Short, but Campaign Gains Momentum
The fundraising dinner was organized as a major component of the national mobilization effort to finance the Lone Star’s AFCON campaign.
Earlier in the year, the National Team Mobilization Committee had proposed a US$5 million fundraising target, saying the money would be needed to prepare and equip the national team technically, logistically and competitively.
The campaign has since expanded to a US$10 million target, reflecting the scale of the resources being sought for training camps, travel and logistics, equipment, facilities and the broader development of Liberian football. The campaign’s public fundraising platform identifies those areas as major components of its AFCON 2027 strategy.
Although the more than US$3 million raised at Saturday’s rally represents less than one-third of the target, it gives the campaign a significant initial pool of resources as the qualification matches approach.
Boakai Applauds Bea Mountain Football Academy Initiative
President Boakai also used the occasion to highlight the importance of investing beyond the current Lone Star squad.
He expressed appreciation to Bea Mountain Mining Corporation for supporting the development of football academies in Liberia, describing the planned facilities as a potentially transformative investment in the country’s football future.
The Government and Bea Mountain have announced plans to establish football academies designed to create structured pathways for young Liberian players to progress toward professional football and the national teams. President Boakai had previously highlighted the partnership in his 2026 Annual Message, noting that the academies would help promote professionalism and growth in Liberia’s sports sector.
The initiative has already begun taking shape, with Bea Mountain launching youth football scouting activities in Monrovia in April. More than 600 young players reportedly participated in an initial open tryout for the academy program.
The broader academy concept includes grassroots football schools and advanced player-development structures, providing a pathway from youth football into elite competition.
From Fundraising to a Football System
President Boakai’s appeal goes beyond the immediate objective of financing the Lone Star’s AFCON campaign.
He encouraged government officials, businesses and private investors to move beyond one-time donations and become long-term partners in the development of Liberian football.
The President’s message is consistent with his recent emphasis on building sustainable sporting structures and honoring both Liberia’s football history and its future.
Earlier this month, he visited former Lone Star player and coach Josiah N. Johnson, popularly known as JNJ, and said Liberia must remember those who contributed to the development of sports while preparing the next generation. Johnson played for the national team from 1958 to 1971 and later coached the Lone Star from 1971 to 1979, including Liberia’s victory over Ghana in the Six Nations Tournament.
That visit and Saturday’s fundraising dinner point toward a broader presidential approach: recognize the country’s football heritage while creating institutions capable of producing future stars.
A Difficult Road to AFCON 2027
The task before the Lone Star remains formidable.
Liberia’s Group K opponents—Mali, Cape Verde and Rwanda—present a demanding qualifying route. CAF’s format requires teams to play home-and-away matches across six matchdays, with the top two teams in each qualifying group advancing to the finals, except in groups containing an automatically qualified host.
Liberia’s opening fixtures will therefore provide an immediate test of whether the renewed financial and institutional support can translate into results on the pitch.
The Lone Star is scheduled to open its campaign away to Rwanda on September 25 before hosting Mali four days later. The remaining matches against Cape Verde, Rwanda and Mali will follow in November 2026 and March 2027.
For President Boakai, however, qualification is only one part of the objective.
The larger ambition is to create a football structure in which Liberia does not have to repeatedly start from scratch whenever a major tournament approaches.
“Let’s build a Lone Star that is consistent and competitive,” the President urged, challenging government, football administrators, corporate Liberia and investors to turn the current national enthusiasm into a sustainable football-development program.
If that vision is realized, Saturday’s fundraising dinner could ultimately be remembered not simply as an effort to finance one AFCON campaign, but as an early step toward rebuilding the institutional foundation of Liberian football.
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