MONROVIA – Liberia Senior Female national Handball Team has departed the country for Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to compete in the inaugural Zone-3 Handball Tournament overcoming severe financial bottlenecks that nearly abortad the nation’s participation on the regional stage.
By Christopher C. Walker | [email protected]
The tournament officially kick -off is set for Wednesday, September 2, with Liberia slated to lock horns with Benin in its opening group fixture.
The Liberian women will return to the court on Thursday against traditional powerhouse Côte d’Ivoire, before wrapping up their group phase encounters against Togo on Friday.
Historic Opportunity, Structural Neglect
The departure of the 26-member delegation on Saturday, August 29, brings relief to the athletic contingent, but it once again exposes the chronic state failure and systemic neglect plaguing non-football sports disciplines in Liberia.
A release from the Liberia National Handball Association (LNHA) confirmed that the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the central government provided zero financial support for the national team’s trip to West Africa.
Left stranded without state budgetary backing, LNHA leadership was forced to scramble for private loans, emergency contributions, and last-minute alternative funding to secure a bus to take them to Burkina Faso, lodging, and match logistics for the players and technical staff.
The team is scheduled to return to Monrovia on September 10 following the conclusion of the continental showcase.
The Unending Battle Outside the Football Pitch
The handball team’s ordeal is not an isolated incident; it reflects an enduring crisis across Liberia’s sports sector.
While football consumes the overwhelming majority of public sports funding, basketball, athletics, volleyball, martial arts, and handball continue to operate in budgetary obscurity.
Time and again, Liberian national teams representing the country at international tournaments are forced to issue public appeals or pull out entirely due to government default on statutory funding requests.
Despite traveling on a shoe-string budget, players expressed determination to put aside pre-Tournament frustration and focus entirely on tactical performance.
Focus Shifts to the Court
With the travel crisis temporarily solved, head caches and players face a dense match schedule against seasoned West African oposition in Ouagadougou For the female athletes, the Zone-3 tournament presents a rare international showcase to gain scouting exposure, earn continental ranking points, and build competitive depth for Liberian handball.
“Simply arriving in Burkina Faso is a victory over system failure,” Samuel Hasay noted prior to departure from Liberia. “Now, the players have to prove that given equal support, Liberian women in non-football sports can bring home silverware.”
As commencement approaches on September 2, the delegation carries the national colors into battle not because of state backing, but in spite of its absence.
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