Upon completion of the deal, the Under 17 and 20 would be wearing the Givova kit for the next three years.

Shannon said his sudden break in Italy came on a rather smooth platter giving the glittering outing of football legend George Weah, during his spell in that country. “We should be grateful to Weah for paving the way for Liberian football”, he said.

The recent volcano ash across the skies of Europe leading to the grounding of flights could not deter the young LFA vice for administration from closing up on these enviable advances for the football house. At the back of a rough ride through the highlands of Europe, Shannon indeed broke the jinx by first meeting the FIFA supremo for pretty closed to 40 minutes.

Meeting FIFA

Touching on his meeting with FIFA president Joseph Sepp Blatter in Zurich, Shannon said the FIFA president showed delight in working with the new leadership of the LFA. “The meeting was positive and warm; he asked that we be proactive in meeting development initiatives up for grab at the level of FIFA”.

He said Blatter was impressed that he (Shannon) is a direct representation of Liberian players. “He [Blatter] requested for my CV before I could meet him face-to-face, and he was quite elated that I played the game myself”.

Shannon said Blatter was plain, saying the LFA needs to be aggressive and transparent and put football first and last. “He urged us to complete the first Goal project which covers the ATS and other projects.”

Shannon said he made various advances to Blatter leading to development and capacity building. “The detail of our meeting will be expanded by the president of the LFA, whom I am thankful to for giving me the opportunity to meet with Blatter ahead of him.” Shannon said not many leaders could be as calm as Musa Bility. The LFA president is en route to meet with the FIFA president via the United States.

Bility speaking to journalists in the US recently said Blatter has promised to up the annual remittance to Liberia by $400,000.00, meaning an addition of $150,000.00. He said Blatter made the disclosure to him minutes following his election last month as LFA president. Both Shannon and Bility had planned to meet the FIFA boss until the volcano crisis erupted.