Boakai Backs Lone Star's AFCON Bid as LFA Proposes Raising Player Bonus to $2,500
Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, Monrovia (file photo, 2012) - the venue named in the LFA's infrastructure funding push. Photo: blk24ga, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
President Joseph Boakai has thrown his support behind Liberia's bid to reach the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 2002, as the LFA pushes to more than double match bonuses and plans a fundraising dinner to close a funding gap.
President Joseph N. Boakai Sr. has pledged government support for the Lone Star's campaign to reach the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 2002, as national team preparations move into a higher gear ahead of the 2027 qualifiers.
The Liberia Football Association is proposing to raise match appearance fees for national team players from $1,000 to $2,500 per game, aiming to both motivate the current squad and make it easier to recruit Liberian talent based abroad. Moroccan coach Mohammed Adil Erradi, appointed earlier this year, has assembled a provisional 35-player squad and is in ongoing discussions with clubs over player releases.
Liberia was drawn into Group K alongside Mali, Cape Verde and Rwanda for the qualifying campaign, which runs across three FIFA international windows between September 2026 and March 2027. But the LFA's budget needs exceed what the Ministry of Finance has been able to allocate so far, leaving a funding gap for player bonuses as well as urgent stadium work - including turf maintenance and FIFA-compliance upgrades - at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex.
To help close that gap, a Presidential National Team Resource Mobilization Fundraising Dinner is scheduled for September 11, 2026, bringing together corporate leaders and government officials in support of the qualification campaign. The 2027 AFCON finals are set to be held in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.