Liberia Will Not Officially Participate in the 2023 WAFU Women’s Tournament

---“The LFA regrets that our team won’t be able to participate in a competition; it won the bronze medal (third place) during the first edition in Sierra Leone in February 2019.”

The Liberia Football Association (LFA) has formally announced that Liberia will not compete in the upcoming West African Football Union (WAFU) Zone "A" women's Nations Cup in Cape Verde.

Liberia was scheduled to participate in the second edition of the competition, which will take place from January 20–30, along with eight other member associations.

In a press release dated January 18, LFA stated that it had officially informed WAFU of Liberia's decision not to compete in this year's competition.

LFA said it took the decision following discussions with the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYS) “for the provision of financial support to various national teams,” but the Ministry, in response, said “the government is not in the position to provide financial support for the women’s national team to compete in this year's edition.”

The press release stated, “The LFA regrets that our team won’t be able to participate in a competition; it won the bronze medal (third place) during the first edition in Sierra Leone in February 2019.”

LFA and the national government have both come under huge criticism since it was announced that the women’s team would not be participating in the competition.

The women's national team's absence from the event infuriated a number of current and former players, who vented their anger on social media.

"I am frustrated and disappointed hearing that the women’s national team will not participate in the 2023 WAFU women’s cup due to lack of finance,” wrote former national team captain Jestina Wilson, who wore the armband when Liberia won bronze in the inaugural competition. 

“First of all, they should stop acting as if they have always supported the female national team because the Ministry of Youth and Sports has never previously supported women’s football.

“My biggest and greatest disappointment is with the LFA and the president of this country. I specifically voted for President George M. Weah because he is from Clara Town, the city where I was born, and I saw him as one of us; that is, as a football president who will use football to bring joy to the young people of this nation.

“My next frustration goes to the LFA and all those pretenders that are always saying they are working in the interest of women’s football,” she said.