FIFA Council Member Pinnick Joins Liberian President To Launch New LFA Office In Monrovia.

FIFA Council member and CAF Executive Committee member, Amaju Pinnick, represented FIFA at the opening of the new Liberia Football Association Headquarters, an event that took place in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, on April 28, 2023.

The immediate past First Vice president of the Nigeria Football Federation, Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi, was also present at the occasion chaired by the Liberian President and former World Footballer of the Year, George Weah.

The project which was Liberia's first since inception of the country’s FA in 1936, funded by FIFA, cost $1.5million.

“I want to congratulate all of you on this beautiful building. We are very proud of it at the FIFA Council,” said Pinnick, a former head of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

“We were very excited about this project. Gianni Infantino would have loved to have been here. Unfortunately, he did not have the time and asked me to represent him and to stand witness to this historic day in the development of football in Africa. It’s very important for the development of the game for member associations to have their own headquarters. It provides them with a base where they can plan, put together and implement programmes.”

Also speaking at he event, Liberia's President and Former World Footballer of the year, George Weah was full of praises to FIFA, saying the beautiful edifice wouldn't have been built, if not for the help of the World Football Governing body. 

“It’s an important step and we can only be grateful and say a big thank you to Gianni Infantino and his team,” said Liberian President George Weah.

“We will keep working together to take Liberian football to the next level.

“I worked with FIFA before becoming President and I am continuing to support their work today because I know what FIFA are capable of,” added the former AC Milan striker, who has been running Liberia since 2017.

“I must express, therefore, my most sincere gratitude to Gianni Infantino, who is passionate about football and wants to see the countries of Africa keep pace with the rest of the world in terms of their development. We are proud and happy to work alongside FIFA and I would like to congratulate Mustapha Raji [the president of the LFA] and his team for successfully completing this next step.”

The new headquarters project, which was drafted by Musa Bility’s administration, is valued at US$1.5 million. The new football house is located in the Swankamore Community, on SKD Boulevard in Congo Town.

The project's funding came from FIFA as part of its “FIFA Forward 2.0 Program”, a football development initiative that aims to provide each member association and the six confederations with comprehensive, individually tailored support for the development of football. 

According to a release from the LFA, the chief patron of sports, George Weah, will dedicate the milestone project.

“The three-story elevation, which is designed with an extended conference hall at its foot, will house the LFA's staff, including office space designated for members of the Executive Committee and the Technical Department, which includes a number of national teams,” the LFA said