Soccer News of Thursday, 3 May 2001

Source: Vanguard (Lagos)

Liberia Accuse Ghana of Plotting Their Fall

Liberian Sports officials are crying blue murder and "conspiracy" against Ghana's national carrier, Ghana Airways over delays in airlifting the Lone Star to Nigeria for weekend's Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup match in Port Harcourt.

A BBC report last night said that the Liberians accused Ghana Airways of conspiring to get them knocked out of the 2002 World Cup race.

"They were first scheduled to depart Tuesday for Nigeria, but then, the flight was re-schedule for Thursday. A check at the Accra headquarters of the airline however, indicated there may no longer be any flight.

"The Liberian authorities are now crying conspiracy by other teams in the group to stop their qualification for 2002 World Cup finals in Korea/Japan," the report said.

The radio however, added that morale was high in the Lone Star camp despite the hiccup. "They now train on artificial turf for the match against Nigeria's Super Eagles on Saturday in Port Harcourt."

It also noted that the Liberians were now considering to chatter a plane to airlift both players and officials to Lagos.

The Liberians lead on the group table with 12 points from five matches. Sudan follow next with nine points while the Super Eagles come third with seven points. A win this weekend in Port Harcourt will give them 10 points, still two behind the Liberians.