Cambridge, Massachusetts - The Chief Patron of Sports, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has learned about the deaths of several local football fans who were overcome by exhaustion and eventual suffocation during a World Cup qualifying match between Liberia and Gambia on Sunday at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville on June 1, 2008.
The President extends her deepest sympathy to the bereaved families for the irreparable losses they have suffered. She expresses the hope and prays that God will grant the families solace as they endure these difficult and anguishing moments. “This is a tragedy and a big loss for the entire nation, putting a cloud of sadness over an event that was to bring our youth together to celebrate with our Gambian brothers and sisters in the spirit of sportsmanship.”
The President has directed authorities of the Ministry of Youth and Sports to conduct a thorough and speedy investigation to ascertain the facts surrounding this unfortunate accident, so as to ensure that adequate and effective measures are instituted to prevent a repeat of Sunday’s tragic event.
The Chief Patron has directed the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Liberia Football Association to work along with the bereaved families to ensure that victims are accorded proper burials. President Sirleaf has also directed the authorities of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Liberia Football Association to remain in close contact with the bereaved families.
President Sirleaf says that the entire Cabinet and the people of Liberia join her in presenting their deepest condolences to the families and relatives of the victims as well as to all sport fans in Liberia and elsewhere who share this loss.
The President hereby declares a period of national mourning to start on the weekend. The mourning will be marked by prayers in all houses of worship on Friday and Sunday, throughout Liberia. The national ensign will be flown at half mast during this period, from dusk to dawn, in memory and honor of the victims.