By Paul Nicholson
June 1 – Outgoing Liberian FA (LFA) president Musa Bility is clearly not as outgoing as people had expected, with FIFA having again recognised the controversial CAF committee member as leader of football in the country, for the time being.
After elections for the LFA presidency were suspended on April 14 via a court injunction, FIFA has now stepped in telling newly elected LFA officials that they cannot take office until the governing body has ratified the election and that Bility is still recognised by them as president.
Those elections were not disputed by the court injunction which focussed entirely on the governance issues surrounding the election for the new president.
FIFA sent an inspection committee to Liberia on May 24-25, 2018, to assess the issues of irregularities raised during the recently halted elections of a new LFA president which suspended after the first round of voting.
Liberian news outlet the Inquirer has seen a letter sent to FIFA general secretary Fatma Samura by the newly elected LFA executive committee asking for Bility and his deputy Musa Shannon to have their attendance at the FIFA congress in Moscow June 13 withdrawn.
“This decision follows the elections of new corps of officers for the next four years,” says the letter.
Bility immediately replied describing the overly ambitious approach of Sekou Konneh, Vice President for Operations, as a complete violation of the LFA and FIFA’s Statutes respectively.
FIFA’s position has been that its inspection team had still to report back to HQ in Zurich and told the new LFA committee that “it has not taken any position with regards to the situation of the LFA yet. FIFA’s position will be communicated to the LFA in due course as communicated during our mission. Please abstain from taking any contrary action to this until FIFA gives its position.”
Bility takes this affirmation of his continued LFA leadership a step further saying: “FIFA has mandated the LFA to refrain from taking any action on this matter until a final determination is made after a FIFA assessment mission, which was recently concluded, can report back to FIFA to be followed by a decision of the relevant FIFA body.”
“In total disregard to this mandate from FIFA, you and your colleagues have chosen to act contrary.”
Bility has recently made headlines in Africa by breaking ranks with other African federations over the 2026 World Cup hosting bid saying that he would vote for the US/Mexico/Canada bid over the Moroccan bid because of Liberia’s close links with the US and because that was the wish of new Liberian state president George Weah.
With FIFA seemingly solidly behind the United 2026 bid, there is perhaps a strong reason to keep him in place for one last throw of the dice.
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