Liberia: Shaita Angels Demand LFA Ensure Ambulances at Match Venues After Player Collapsed

Monrovia – Shaita Angels FC, a top-tier women’s football club in Liberia, has raised serious concerns over player safety during league matches, following a recent incident in which two of their players collapsed on the pitch during a match.

The club’s concerns come after Francisca Howe and Esther Massalay of Shaita Angels fainted during the quarterfinals of the 2024/2025 Orange Cup against Determine Girls at Tusa Field on March 1, 2025. 

There was no ambulance or emergency vehicle available at the scene to transport the players to a nearby hospital for medical attention.

Despite the alarming incident, Shaita Angels proceeded to lose 4-3 in a penalty shootout to Determine Girls after the match ended 0-0 in regulation time.

In a statement issued after the incident, Shaita Angels confirmed that Howe and Massalay are receiving treatment for their condition. The club, however, expressed its dissatisfaction with the lack of an ambulance or emergency vehicle at the venue, which is mandated under the rules governing the 2024/2025 football season.

“The club can confirm that Francisca Howe and Esther Massalay are responding to treatment after their collapse during our Orange Cup quarterfinal game at Tusa Field,” the statement read. “In light of this recent incident, we have written to the Liberia Football Association (LFA), requesting that ambulances or emergency vehicles be present at our match venues, as stipulated in the league rules.”

The club further emphasized that the absence of ambulances presents an unacceptable risk to player safety, calling on the LFA to take immediate action to ensure the availability of emergency services at future matches.

For her part, Shaita Angels FC President, Benita Urey, expressed her dissatisfaction in a Facebook post, declaring that her club would no longer participate in LFA-organized matches unless ambulances and emergency vehicles are provided.

“Shaita Angels FC will not honor any LFA match where ambulances or emergency vehicles are not made available as required by the rules and regulations of the 2024/2025 league season,” Urey wrote on March 3, 2025.

The requirement for ambulances at matches was reinforced by LFA President Mustapha I. Raji, who emphasized the need for a holistic review of player safety protocols after the tragic death of 17-year-old footballer Amara Kamara on January 28, 2025. Kamara passed away while traveling to Ghana for spinal cord surgery after sustaining an injury during a league match on January 8, 2025.

At the time, Raji acknowledged that while the LFA is responsible for organizing the matches, the provision of ambulances should not be solely their responsibility. He highlighted the lack of emergency medical resources in Liberia, including the limited availability of ambulances in many hospitals across the country.

“The situation in our country is serious. Do we even have enough ambulances? We have clinics and hospitals, but how many of them have ambulances?” Raji asked during a media briefing at the LFA.

Raji had previously proposed that clubs use their subvention funds to purchase ambulances for matches, aligning with FIFA’s guidelines that mandate ambulances at official football events. However, he noted that this would cost the LFA approximately $80,000 annually, a financial burden he described as unsustainable.

In response to these concerns, the LFA has announced plans to implement an emergency vehicle system for transporting injured players during league matches. However, efforts to renew a contract with the Liberia National Red Cross Society (LNRCS) for emergency services have thus far been unsuccessful.

“We are working on securing emergency vehicles to transport injured players to nearby hospitals for treatment,” Raji concluded.