MONROVIA – The Organizing Committee of the 2025/2026 Nationwide County Sports activities Meet (NCSM) has dealt an enormous blow to Lofa County’s championship aspirations, formally awarding match factors to Grand Cape Mount and Grand Bassa Counties following a high-stakes protest over participant eligibility.
By Christopher C. Walker
The choice, which reshapes the match’s knockout bracket simply hours earlier than the quarterfinals, was introduced Friday on the Ministry of Youth and Sports activities headquarters on the Samuel Ok. Doe Sports activities Complicated.
The Infraction
On the coronary heart of the controversy was the fielding of gamers Jeremiah Johnson and Francis Doe. Following a technical assessment, the Committee confirmed that each gamers have been ineligible to take part within the match resulting from invalid switch procedures.
The Liberia Soccer Affiliation (LFA), which oversees participant validation for the soccer class, knowledgeable the Committee that the duo’s transfers from Wologizi FC to Howard FC occurred on December 7, 2025. This date falls exterior the formally sanctioned home switch window, rendering their registration null and void.
The Ruling
Invoking Article 24, Part A of the NCSM Guidelines and Rules, the Organizing Committee affirmed the sooner resolution of the Protest Committee and the Enchantment Board.
In a press release, the Committee cited Article 55 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, which mandates an automated forfeiture if an ineligible participant options in a match. Consequently, Lofa County was ordered to forfeit the outcomes of matches by which Johnson and Doe participated.
The factors redistribution is as follows:
Grand Cape Mount: Awarded three factors and two objectives from their December 20, 2025, conflict in opposition to Lofa.
Grand Bassa: Awarded three factors and two objectives from their December 14, 2025, match in opposition to Lofa in Buchanan.
New Group C Standings
The ruling has precipitated a big shift within the ultimate Group C desk. Grand Bassa County now emerges because the group chief with seven factors and a plus-four purpose distinction. Grand Cape Mount County secures the runner-up spot, additionally with seven factors however a plus-three purpose distinction, successfully ending Lofa’s run within the competitors.
“The choice is firmly grounded within the match’s guidelines and laws,” the Committee said. “Any deviation from established guidelines might undermine the validity of the competitors. We name on all supporters and stakeholders to respect this ruling.”
Quarterfinals Set for SKD
Regardless of the late-stage drama, the “Peace and Unity” match strikes ahead. The quarterfinal stage is scheduled to kick off tomorrow, Saturday, January 3, 2026, on the SKD Sports activities Complicated.
The double-header fixtures in each kickball and soccer will characteristic River Gee, Grand Cape Mount, Gbarpolu, Margibi, and Montserrado, because the nation prepares for the climax of Liberia’s largest sporting pageant.
