Harbel, Margibi County – Lucy Kikeh, 15, is shy when a stranger attempts swaying her into a conversation and would hardly express herself, but she expresses herself better with a football at her feet.
Report by Alpha Daffae Senkpeni, [email protected]
She has gained fame by dribbling her opponents and scoring some brilliant goals from the wings with her left foot. For two years she played for an all-girls soccer squad in Monrovia.
Lucy has now been scouted to play for Harbel College located on the Firestone plantation in Margibi County. S
he lives two miles outside the plantation and has to be on time for practice every week day at 4:pm.
“I am hoping that once my team enters a league we will win the cup, that’s why I come for practice every day,” she said bashfully with her head bending down.
Lucy says playing football is her ‘trade’, and she is constantly resisting mockery from other lads who think she’s a tomboy.
During regular practice Lucy does ball drills, runs and learn other techniques along with her team mates.
She has motivated several other girls to the college girls’ soccer team.
Lucy’s team mate, Angel Tamba disagrees with the traditional Liberian stereotype that women cannot be soccer stars.
“I want for football to take me out of this country to go Europe so I can go there and play,” the 8th grader said courageously.
Like Lucy, Angel is always bullied by her friends but she doesn’t care.
She only wants to play football despite the misperceptions about women playing football.
“Football is good because it changes the mindset about women, everybody thinks women supposed to be in the kitchen – but I love football,” the 15 year old striker said.
Liberia has not have any female international footballer, and this means Lucy, Angel and her team mates have a long way to moving to a team in Europe.
The Liberia Football Association has eight teams in its top flight with LRD$168,750(US$1607) awarded to the champions and LRD$ 56,250 (US$535) to the Runners-Up.
There are minimum rewards and benefits associated with the female game in Liberia and this casts uncertainties over the development of the game and its players, but those involve with the game are still optimistic.
“We are trying to help keep our children and our girls up to the standard,” explains Coach George Quansah, alias George Pele, who says training girls to play soccer requires counseling and coaching.
“It’s a very big task because our country has not been growing female soccer and the FA and sports ministry has been working hard… but coming here to train these kids for the college team is a challenge.”
The experience George Pele is familiar with success; he’s still savoring the 2017 county meet success as deputy coach for Montserrado County.
He has scouted 25 girls to build the Harbel College team and is hopeful the team will be formidable.
For over three months, Harbel College (HARCO) is giving these girls a chance to prepare for college by playing soccer.
Interestingly, all the girls are either elementary or junior high students and have years ahead of college.
“We want to be one of the best in the county, in the country and in the world,” said a very ambitious and optimistic Dr. Syrulwa Somah.
“We want to take our team to the Olympics one day and that is the purpose for this training, both boys and girls.”
Dr. Somah, President of Harbel College, says they are now building a strong female team by selecting kids as young as 10 years up to 17 years old.
He believes the program can hook girls to college education right after high school.
“We want to produce our Mata of Brazil or our Mata of Liberia,” he said.
Established in 2012 by the legislature and accredited by the commission on higher education, Harco started with a limited budget around US$250,000 but appears to be the “smallest college in the country with the biggest heart”.
And blending football (soccer) with academics seems to be a trick the college is employing to improve its female admission.
“Sport is a major underpinning when it comes to curriculum,” said the experienced educator, who has worked at various universities in the United States.
As a former footballer himself who played for several high schools teams in Liberia back in the 1970s, says his passion for the game is unwavering.
He thinks such extra curriculum activities can strengthen academic success at the college.
“We intend to use our teachers to help these students with their lessons Math, Science and English; and the parents are supportive,” he said.
“We will find resources by reaching out to funding agencies including the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection because our President (Ellen Johnson Sirleaf) says we should give women a chance. There’s got to be bait – something you can use to hook these girls to like education.”
Dr. Somah’s optimism is translating into signs of progress, and some of these female soccer players on the college squad will be ready to enroll when the time is right.
“I will want go to the Harbel College when I finish with high school because I think they like football and will encourage me to play while I am going to college here,” Angel said.