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Saturday, September 3, 2005
In a last minute change of position, the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) has reversed its decision not to allow the Liberian National football team, The Lone Star, to attend Sunday's World Cup qualifier against Togo. The NTGL had announced on Wednesday that the squad would not be able to travel to Lome, Togo because of a lack of funds to pay for the team's travel.
In a statement explaining its decision not to fund the team's travel, the NTGL highlighted more pressing financial obligations such as the country's upcoming national elections and the demobilization of the nation's defunct armed forces. "As a result of the huge expenditure, the National Transitional Government of Liberia has decided it is unfeasible to underwrite the Lone Star's travel to Togo," said the Minister of Information, Dr. C. William Allen.
The decision to allow The Lone Star to travel to Lome was made after the price of the team's travel decreased from US$31,000 to US$18,000. The team now plans to fly to Accra and take a bus to Lome versus fly the entire way. Had Liberia failed to take the field on Sunday, the country would have faced fines of US$31,895 and possible prohibition from participating in the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa. Incidentally, the fines would have been slightly more than the team's original travel budget.
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This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
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Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
The text of this article has been released into the public domain. In the event that this is not legally possible, this article may be used for any purpose, without any condition, unless such conditions are required by law. This applies worldwide. Copyright terms on images, however, may vary, so please check individual image pages prior to duplication.
