Monrovia – The senior national football team of Liberia will face their Libyan counterparts in a friendly match ahead of the Lone Star African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Morocco on October 17, 2023, in Morocco.
By Christopher C. Walker [email protected] 0777898224/0886723075
The Liberia Football Association (LFA) announced on Tuesday, October 3rd, that they have scheduled a friendly match with Libya. This match will take place in Libya on October 14 as part of the team’s preparations for the Nations Cup qualifier and the upcoming double-header in the World Cup qualifiers.
A statement from the LFA stated, “The Lone Star will return to action this month with two matches in Morocco. The first is an international friendly against Libya in Casablanca on Saturday, Oct. 14, before the AFCON qualifier match against Morocco in Agadir, which had to be rescheduled due to an earthquake.”
Although Liberia is out of contention for a spot in the Nations Cup in Ivory Coast, they are hoping to use both matches to strengthen their team for the World Cup qualifiers. Head Coach Ansu Keita’s men were defeated in their last match against Ghana and have yet to record a win during his tenure as head coach of Liberia.
Liberia, which has not reached the World Cup before, will play two home matches in the 2025 World Cup qualifiers against Malawi and Equatorial Guinea in November.
Prior to the national team’s departure to Morocco for their postponed match against Morocco, Lone Star head coach Ansumana Keita pleaded with the LFA and the Liberian government to arrange more friendlies for his team. This would allow him to evaluate players he has in mind for key matches.
Keita stated that if his team had played a friendly match before the game with South Africa, they might not have settled for a draw away from home. However, his assertion was contradicted as Liberia still lost at home to South Africa in the first leg.
Liberia and Libya have faced each other in two games, one in 2008 and another in 2021. On May 27, 2008, Liberia lost to Libya 4-2 in an international friendly, but on June 14, 2021, Liberia secured a 1-0 win over their North African counterparts in another friendly match.
It is worth noting that in 2017, the Liberian government mandated the Liberia Football Association (LFA) to cancel a planned international friendly with Libya in Tripoli on January 24. Deputy Sports Minister Henry B. Yonton, at that time, stated that Sports Minister Saah Charles N’Tow had written to LFA President Musa Bility on January 19, expressing the government’s objection to the match due to security concerns in Libya.
Yonton emphasized that it was not safe to take the national football team to Tripoli, Libya, as CAF and FIFA had not cleared Libya for safety to play matches at home. He pointed out that Libya had not hosted their World Cup or Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying matches in Libya.
However, in response, then LFA Vice President Musa Shannon argued that there was nowhere on Earth that was entirely safe, and Liberia should empathize with countries facing instability. Shannon recalled instances when Liberia played international matches even during periods of conflict, demonstrating Liberia’s commitment to the sport despite challenging circumstances.
