Newsday
By Simba Rushwaya
3 September 2010
The Warriors have at last dumped technical supplier Legea in favour of major sports brand Puma ahead of their 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Group A qualifier against Liberia in Monrovia on Sunday.
The new kit was presented at a function last night at a local hotel to launch the 2012 Afcon campaign, bringing to an end Legea’s marriage with the national association, which has always been under question.
The function was attended by the Minister of Education, Sport, Art and Culture David Coltart, Zifa board members, Sports and Recreation Commission director- general Charles Nhemachena among others.
The Warriors had earlier practised against Motor Action at Motor Action Sports Club where Denmark-based winger Quincy Antipas got an injury scare after sustaining an ankle injury after colliding with another player.
Antipas and Clemence Matawu, who is based in Poland, will have to pass late fitness tests before caretaker coach Norman Mapeza names his final squad this afternoon.
Mapeza said: “We will hear what the team doctors will say about the players.
Some of them have minor knocks. Like you saw, Quincy was injured and we don’t know the extent of the injury while Clemence will have to pass fitness tests.â€
Besides the two injury scares, the rest of the players who took part in the practice match came out unscathed.
The Warriors leave this evening for Monrovia where they will battle with Liberia in the first match of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Meanwhile, Liberia’s senior football team has dropped three key players ahead of its African Cup of Nations qualifier against Zimbabwe on Sunday.
Lone Star’s Hungarian coach Bertalan Bicskei dismissed Dulee Johnson (AIK Sonia Sweden), Dioh Williams (AGF Aarhus Denmark) and Francis Doe (Al Ahly Egypt) from his team yesterday for breaking camping regulations.
The trio, according to Bicskei, didn’t spend the night at the team hotel in Monrovia, and it was during a routine check at 2:00am that he realised the three players were out on their own.
Liberia FA flew in 15 overseas-based players for the Group A encounter.
All the expelled players have denied leaving camp, but Bicskei is sticking to his stance and prevented the players from training with the rest of the team yesterday morning.
Johnson, one of the long-serving players of the Lone Star, and Doe have had repeated cases of indiscipline in the past and their expulsion didn’t come as a surprise to many football fans.
In a news conference yesterday morning, Liberia Football Association President Musa Bility disclosed that the players will be returning to their respective teams in the coming days.
He said the Lone Star put in place a rigorous code of conduct to restrain all the players, and acknowledged that the FA has endorsed the decision of Bicskei.
Bility was locked in a meeting with the affected players after the news conference and though details of the meeting were not disclosed to the media, as things stand, a void has been already been created in the squad.
At the same time, midfielder- cum-striker James Koko Lomell has been selected as one of the replacements for the controversial trio.
Also midfielder Marcus Marcauley was one of six locally based players that was in camp, but was only there as a back-up.
According to reports, the final player that has been called in is the left-footed forward Dweh Allison who is leaving Premier Club FC AK on a free transfer to Invincible Eleven.