Lawyer Al-Varney Rogers, a former reporter with FrontPage Africa, has recorded a serious authorized victory after efficiently representing Grand Cape Mount County in a landmark protest case on the ongoing 2025/2026 Nationwide County Sports activities Meet (NCSM).
By Emmanuel Weedee-Conway
Rogers, working alongside colleague Charles Masalay, led Grand Cape Mount County to victory over Lofa County following a ruling by the Grievance and Protest Committee established by the Ministry of Youth and Sports activities (MYS).
The protest centered on allegations that Lofa County fielded greater than the allowable variety of first-division gamers throughout their December 21, 2025 match on the SKD Sports activities Complicated. Hearings had been performed over the weekend on the Marie Coman Villa within the Township of Congo City, with the ruling formally issued to each events on Monday.
The Protest
Grand Cape Mount County accused Lofa County of violating Article XI, Sub-section 13.13 of the 2025/2026 NCSM Guidelines and Rules, which allows every group to subject solely three first-division and three second-division gamers.
The gamers cited within the protest included:
• Darius Garmondeh (Watanga FC) – Jersey #9
• Jeremiah Johnson (Wologizi FC) – Jersey #3
• Francis Doe (Wologizi FC) – Jersey #24
• Alexander Curtis (Watanga FC) – Jersey #4
• Maxwell Keller (Wologizi FC) – Jersey #10
Lofa County’s Protection
Lofa County challenged the protest on procedural grounds, arguing that Grand Cape Mount did not submit its formal protest letter inside the required four-hour window as stipulated underneath Article XV (Protests and Grievances), Sub-section 17.1.
Committee’s Findings
In response, Rogers and Masalay maintained that the protest was filed on the match sheet instantly after the sport and that delays in submitting the formal letter had been attributable to venue modifications and the unavailability of approved MYS officers. They additional relied on Part 1.7 of Liberia’s Civil Process Regulation, which permits extensions when deadlines fall on weekends or holidays.
After reviewing match sheets, switch information, and documentation from the Liberia Soccer Affiliation (LFA), the Committee addressed three key points:
1. Whether or not the transfers of Jeremiah Johnson and Francis Doe from Wologizi FC to Howard FC had been correctly executed;
2. Whether or not the timing of the formal protest letter invalidated the grievance; and
3. Whether or not Lofa County violated participant eligibility guidelines.
The Committee dominated that the transfers of Johnson and Doe weren’t correctly processed by way of the LFA’s Home Switch Matching System (DTMS) and occurred after the official switch window had closed—rendering each gamers ineligible as third-division gamers.
It additional held that Grand Cape Mount County complied with procedural necessities and that any delay in submitting the formal letter was not materials sufficient to dismiss the protest.
The Ruling
The Committee concluded that Lofa County grossly violated the NCSM eligibility guidelines and did not conduct due diligence earlier than registering the gamers.
Because of this, the Committee ordered that:
“The results of the match between Grand Cape Mount County and Lofa County performed on December 21, 2025, is reversed. Grand Cape Mount County is awarded three (3) factors and two (2) targets in accordance with the 2025/26 Nationwide County Sports activities Meet Guidelines and Rules.”
The ruling was unanimously signed by all members of the Grievance and Disciplinary Committee.
About Atty. Al-Varney Rogers
Atty. Rogers is a lawyer and media growth practitioner with greater than a decade of expertise in advocacy and coverage reform. A member of each the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) and the Liberia Nationwide Bar Affiliation (LNBA), he has been instrumental in initiatives such because the institution of the Media Attorneys Community and the drafting of the Group Radio Sustainability Act.
He at present serves as one of many lead attorneys at Mesurado Regulation Companions Inc.
