MONROVIA-The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) won the Armed Forces Day Tournament over the weekend, just ahead of the Armed Forces Day celebration February 11th. The Ministry of Defense in collaboration with Lonestar Cell MTN organized the tournament with partners to mark the annual celebration.
A statement issued by the company, The AFL football victory came after a series of intense games with Lonestar Cell MTN, LPRC, Tsingtao, and the Liberia National Police.
AFL defeated Alpha Old-timers 2-1 at the Barclay Training Center sports pitch. They also beat the Liberia National Police (LNP) 7-6 on penalties after a goalless draw in game one, while Alpha defeated Lonestar 5-6 on penalties after another goalless draw in a subsequent game.
Nyanneh Group of Companies, importer, and distributor of Tsingtao beer, defeated Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) 2-1 and drew 1-1 with Lonestar in which the telecommunication company won on penalties 3-2.
Lonestar Cell MTN believing that the institutions have a similar mission to help build a great nation, partnered with the AFL to celebrate their 64th anniversary.
Kolubah Flomo, Jr., Lonestar’s Head of Products and Services, said “Since the Armed Forces of Liberia are apart of the Government of Liberia, which is our key partner, we will continue to collaborate with them and all our partners to ensure that we are moving Liberia forward.”
“The initiative formed a critical part of Lonestar Cell MTN’s corporate social responsibility,” he added.
Speaking of Lonestar’s kickball victory, Head Coach, Titus Rozie, praised Lonestar for joining the men and women in arms during their celebration activities.
“It was spectacular that they came to celebrate with us,” said Rozie. We use their coverage at Schieffelin [Military Barracks in Margibi County]. We use their mobile money services.” He added, “We hope to see Lonestar next year. The people in the 23rd infantry brigade felt this victory” said Rozie.
Meanwhile, Lonestar’s sponsored kickball team walloped the LNP 8-0 in a final victory. Head Coach Julius T. Benson was understandably delighted with the victory.
“I feel so proud and pleased with the team. We worked very hard to contain AFL and the LNP. It was awesome.”
AFL Assistant Minister of Defense for Public Affairs, Sam Collins, said the mobile network operator joined the celebration in more than just a football and kickball contests to celebrate the Armed Forces.
“Lonestar and AFL were also involved with a medical outreach on Saturday at the Parker Village in Marshall, Margibi County, and were involved with a massive clean-up campaign in Gbarnga, Bong County,” said Collins.
He also said that it was arguably the first time, since the United Nations Mission in Liberia’s involvement with the celebrations, that an external supporter joined the celebration.
In concurrence with the Assistant Minister of Defense, Mr. Flomo said, “We had Tsingtao, LPRC, and other partners working together as a team to move Liberia forward. We are partners of progress with the AFL for the work we did in Montserrado, Margibi, and Bong Counties ahead of February 11th.
“We are happy that Lonestar sees us as a partner, and we are indeed excited about this new partnership. You can see the excitement among the soldiers, especially those who took part in the games,” said Collins.
“We believe that there are more years ahead of us as it relates to the partnership between the AFL and Lonestar Cell MTN,” he added.
Coach Benson thinking about the tournament and the partnership said, ” It was wonderful. I hope we do it again next year.”
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