By: Julius Konton
The Liberia Football Association (LFA) has taken a significant step toward strengthening football governance and sustainable development following the successful completion of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Football Executive Management Programme (FEMP) by its newly promoted Talent Development Scheme (TDS) Coordinator, Wind Gargar.
Mr. Gargar completed the prestigious programme in Cape Town, South Africa, joining a growing cadre of African football administrators equipped with advanced leadership, governance, and management skills aimed at transforming football across the continent.
A Continental Programme Shaping Modern Football Administration
The CAF Football Executive Management Programme is a flagship capacity-building initiative aligned with CAF’s long-term strategic vision to professionalize football administration across Africa’s 54 Member Associations.
The programme is designed to empower senior administrators, technical leaders, and football executives with practical knowledge and modern management tools needed to build transparent, commercially viable, and ethically driven football institutions.
The second edition of the FEMP, which commenced in September 2025, adopted a blended learning model, combining online instruction with in-person residential sessions, culminating in an intensive module held in Cape Town.
Participants represented football associations, zonal unions, and key football institutions from across the African continent.
According to CAF data, fewer than 10 percent of football administrators across Africa have received formal executive-level training, making the programme a critical intervention in addressing governance gaps and institutional weaknesses that have historically slowed football development in many countries.
Comprehensive Training for Modern Football Challenges
During the programme, Mr. Gargar and his peers underwent rigorous training across several core areas central to modern football administration, including:
Governance and Compliance in Football, emphasizing transparency and accountability
Strategic Planning and Leadership, focused on long-term institutional growth
Financial Management in Sports Organizations, addressing sustainability and fiscal discipline
Commercialization and Sponsorship in African Football, a key area as CAF seeks to grow football revenues beyond traditional funding streams
Football Operations and Event Management, ensuring efficient competition delivery
Digital Innovation and Communication, reflecting the growing role of technology and media
Integrity and Ethics, reinforcing CAF’s zero-tolerance stance on corruption and misconduct
CAF officials note that football contributes billions of dollars annually to Africa’s sports economy, yet many associations struggle with governance and commercialization.
Programmes such as FEMP are intended to bridge this gap by developing competent leaders capable of managing football as both a sport and a business.
Implications for Liberian Football Development
Mr. Gargar’s graduation comes at a pivotal moment for Liberian football, as the LFA intensifies efforts to rebuild its youth development structures, grassroots competitions, and talent pathways under the FIFA-supported Talent Development Scheme (TDS).
Liberia, a nation of over 5 million people, has a youthful population, with more than 60 percent under the age of 25, making youth football development a strategic national priority.
The LFA believes that professional leadership and sound management are essential to unlocking this potential.
In recent years, the association has invested in administrative reforms, technical training, and international partnerships to align Liberian football with global best practices.
LFA Reaffirms Commitment to Capacity Building
In a statement, the Liberia Football Association congratulated Mr. Gargar on his achievement and reaffirmed its commitment to staff development as a cornerstone of its long-term strategy.
“The professional growth of our administrators is fundamental to the growth of football in Liberia.
Building competent leadership ensures that our youth development, competitions, and national teams are managed with integrity, vision, and efficiency,” the LFA noted.
As CAF continues to roll out executive training programmes across the continent, Liberia’s participation underscores the country’s determination to move beyond past challenges and position its football sector on a professional, sustainable, and internationally competitive footing.
With CAF-trained leadership now embedded within its technical and developmental structures, Liberian football appears poised to take a measured but meaningful step toward long-term transformation.
