MONROVIA – Liberian women’s champions Determine Girls Football Club are facing an accommodation crisis in The Gambia following their elimination from the ongoing WAFU Zone A Women’s Champions League qualifiers.
By Christopher C. Walker | [email protected] | 0777898224/0886723075
The Club officials say the delegation has been instructed to vacate its hotel on Thursday September 3, while return flight tickets remain scheduled for September 10.
The club has formally appealed to the Liberia Football Association (LFA) for urgent intervention, warning that players and officials risk being left stranded without lodging if immediate assistance is not provided.
In a letter dated September 1, 2026, addressed to LFA Secretary General Emmett Crayton, Determine Girls FC President Grace H. Weah stated that the tournament’s Organizing Committee informed the club that eliminated teams must check out of the official team hotel.
According to the club, these departure logistics were never communicated prior to their departure from Monrovia or during their stay in Banjul.
“We have been informed by the Organizing Committee that, as an eliminated team, we are expected to depart the team hotel tomorrow,” the club stated in its official communication.
“Unfortunately, this information was never communicated to us prior to our arrival in Gambia, nor was it brought to our attention during our stay.”
The club noted it understood the Organizing Committee had emailed the departure protocols for eliminated teams to the LFA Secretariat, but the information was not forwarded to Determine Girls FC.
Schedule Change Triggers Ticket Complications
Speaking to FrontPage Africa from The Gambia, President Grace Weah explained that the club’s return tickets were booked based on an initial tournament schedule provided by WAFU Zone A.
According to Weah, return travel was originally arranged for September 10. However, tournament fixtures were adjusted after the Liberian delegation had already arrived in the host country.
“Because according to WAFU’s earlier schedule, that was the arrangement,” Weah told FrontPage Africa. “When we got here, the fixture changed to the 7th, but we had already gotten our tickets.”
The combination of the fixture adjustment and early tournament elimination has imposed a sudden financial burden on the Liberian champions to alter their flight itineraries.
“We need US$5,000 to rebook our tickets. We are still stranded,” Weah stated. “WAFU asked us to leave tomorrow morning. Our federation has not yet responded to our email. Tomorrow we will be out of the hotel until help comes.”
Determine Girls FC emphasized that travel arrangements were made in good faith based on the official competition calendar and that no contingency funds were budgeted for early hotel eviction.
“Our team is currently in Gambia with return tickets scheduled for the day after the tournament, while we are being asked to leave the hotel tomorrow,” the letter read. “We have fulfilled our responsibilities and participated in the competition in good faith. We therefore believe it would be unfair for the team to be left stranded in a foreign country because information regarding accommodation was not communicated to us.”
As of publication, Determine Girls FC confirmed it had yet to receive an official response from the Liberia Football Association regarding its September 1 appeal.
With WAFU requiring the delegation to vacate its rooms on Wednesday morning, the Liberian champions remain in limbo, awaiting immediate administrative and financial support from the football governing body to secure lodging and adjust travel plans back to Monrovia.
Support Independent Journalism
Your support helps FrontPage Africa continue delivering independent, credible, and impactful journalism. Every contribution strengthens our ability to investigate, inform, and hold power accountable while keeping quality journalism accessible to our readers.
Support our journalism or subscribe to receive the latest FrontPage Africa stories and updates.
