By Danesius Marteh, [email protected]
Former Liberia Football Association (LFA) secretary-general Isaac T. Z. Montgomery says he will appear when invited by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) in connection to an investigation of alleged corruption at the LFA.
The probe is centered on the government’s contributions to the LFA operations, including the national teams, and its controversial headquarters project.
The LACC announced a full-scale investigation at the LFA on May 19, 2025, following a petition by the Vanguard Student Unification Party (SUP) at the University of Liberia on 4 April 2025 and a letter on 19 May 2025 to inquire about “the current status of the petition and subsequent investigation/review and steps taken by the LACC since reviewing the petition”.
SUP wants the LACC to probe grants and subsidies from FIFA and CAF, lack of full disclosure on budgetary support from the government, sponsorship and contract agreements and gate intakes.
Montgomery, speaking on a wide range of footballing issues on 3 June, told this writer that it is the students’ rights to demand transparency and accountability as they are part of the football pyramid but frowned at a recent violent protest at the LFA.
He said he will appear at the LACC when he receives an invitation in connection to the probe.
“I will surely go to their call but before you can invite me it has to be done properly. You have to write me. I know the procedure and I will come and say the same things I said before.
“The US$319,000, if that’s what they are inviting me for, the documents are there. It passed through the bank. I was sitting there and I know more about it when it comes to the headquarters,” said Montgomery.
He said there is documentary evidence on governmental contributions to the LFA’s operations, including the national teams.
“The financial statements are there. We have gone through audits from the time I sat to the FA from [December] 2018 to 2022 on December 6 when I parted.
“So, the numbers are there. The reports are there. So, no one can hide the numbers. They are there in black and white,” Montgomery added.
LFA President Mustapha Raji, who appeared at the LACC in connection to the probe on 29 May, sued Montgomery for defamation of character in December 2023 for comments made in connection to the headquarters but is yet to perfect his case.
SUP also submitted persons of interest to the LACC on May 30, including former LFA Vice President Wilmot Smith and CESAF-Liberia chief executive officer Kpedee Woiwor.
The LACC was established in August 2008 and reestablished in July 2022 “to investigate all acts of corruption discovered or reported to have occurred in the public, private and civil society sectors of Liberia with the aim of identifying the person(s) and extent of the loss of or damage to any public and or private property as a result of such act of corruption”.
