Liberia: New Orange National League Season to Kick-off in August
Flashback: Freeport FC’s forward Frank Allison dribbles Watanga’s defender Amara Kamara in a league match at the Tusa Field (Photo: Anthony Kokoi)
The Liberia Football Association (LFA) has announced the opening date for the 2022/23 Orange National League as teams continue to transact business in the transfer market.
Addressing a news conference on Wednesday, LFA president Mustapha Raji said the league will kick off on August 24 with rehearsal matches (Super Cups) between 1st Division champions Watanga and Petro Trade Cup holders LISCR and also Determine Girls versus Ambassadors FC in the women’s division.
However, the fixtures for the new league season are yet to be released.
Ahead of the league’s opener, the football association is expected to conduct several workshops aimed at enlightening club officials about the rules and regulations of the upcoming league season, and also a refresher for the CMS (Competition Market System) will be considered.
According to the Chairperson on the competition committee, EC Tickly Monkoney, seven counties (Montserrado, Bassa, Nimba, Bong, Margibi, Grand Cape Mount, and Bomi) will be engaged first to have all clubs registered in the Connect System, a conditional system being used in the last 2 years to register and monitor players.
Unlike the previous league season, the number of games has increased following an increment in the number of clubs in various divisions. A total of 182 matches will now be played in the first division instead of 132 after the number of clubs was increased from 12 to 14, while 240 matches will be played in the second division.
The women’s division also saw an increase in the number of clubs from 10 to 12. As part of plans to generate more revenues from gate intake, the LFA president said the football house is working with potential partners to add more flavors to the league in order to make the league more attractive.
Night games will return to the ATS after many years, following the installation of floodlights and an electronic scoreboard.