Liberia national football team: players, coach, world rankings, nickname

Liberia national football team: players, coach, world rankings, nickname

Ciku Njuguna
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:55 PM

The Liberia national football team is the national men's soccer team of Liberia. The football club is among the first national football clubs created in Africa. Founded in 1936, the national team is 86 years old as of 2022. So what is known about the historical gem? Dig in to find out more about the Lone Stars.

Liberia national football team
Photo: canva.com (modified by author)
Source: UGC

Liberia boasts a very vibrant football scene. However, it does not have the same success compared to other West African national teams. Despite this, several of the nation's footballers are signed to foreign soccer clubs. Why does the national team perform under their potential? Dig in to find out why and much more about the club.

Profile summary

  • Full name: Liberia National Football Team
  • Nickname: The Lone Star
  • Managed by: Liberia Football Association
  • Founded: 1936
  • Colors: Red, blue and white
  • Federation: CAF
  • Coach: Peter Butler
  • Captain: Allen Njie
  • FIFA ranking: 144 (as of December 2021)
  • Stadiums: SKD Stadium

History

Liberia national football team
Liberia national team players (in red) battle against Zaire in the First Round of the African Cup of Nations, 1996. Photo by Gary M. Prior/ALLSPORT
Source: Getty Images

The Liberian national football team's nickname, the Lone Stars, is intertwined with the country's history. For a long time, the club performed very well in African league championships and International leagues. However, a 15-year civil war, Ebola, and Covid -19 pandemics have greatly affected the country's performance at different periods in time.

The club entered the FIFA World Cup qualifiers as early as 1966, successfully qualifying for the first time in 1990. In 1995, the country produced the first African FIFA player of the year and Ballon d'Or winner. George Weah is still considered the greatest football player of that time. His son, Timothy Weah, has followed in his footsteps and plays for the Ligue 1 LOSC Lille football club.

Liberia national football team
Retired Lone Star forward George Weah currently serves as Liberia's 23rd president. Alongside is his son Timothy Weah, who is the number 14 LOSC Lille forward. Photo : (modified by author)
Source: Getty Images

The national football team for Amputees in Liberia is making waves in the global football scene. The team comprises players who took part in the civil war or civilians who got hurt during the war. The team's success speaks to the reconciliation and unity in the country.

Liberia national football team's AFCON campaign

The Liberian national team did not qualify for the 2021 Totalenergies Africa Cup of Nations. The club last made it to the African Championships in 1996 and 2002. However, the football club is set to play in AFCON 2023 preliminaries in Cote d’Ivoire later in the year.

The FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022

The Liberian club came very close to entering the World Cup tournament of 2002 but lost narrowly to the Nigerian Super Eagles. The team will be appearing for the FIFA Qatar World Cup continental qualifiers in May 2021. The football team put on an outstanding performance in the first leg of the qualifying games, winning against Sierra Leone, 3-1.

Africa's Amputee Football Championships

The national football team for amputees has kept up a stellar performance winning the CANAF Cup twice. The team finished in the runners-up position after losing to Ghana in the 2021 championships.

Liberia national football team
2008 All Africa Amputee Cup of Nations MVP and Best GoalkeeperJoseph Allen practices in Monrovia, Liberia. Photo by Kuni Takahashi.
Source: Getty Images

Liberia national football team's roster

The Liberia national football team's coach is former West Brom midfielder, Peter Butler. He was appointed as the team's head coach in 2019. Butler looks forward to a successful FIFA World Cup journey after the AFCON 2022 absence. Have a look at the profile of the former English footballer.

Peter Butler's profile summary

  • Full name: Peter Butler
  • Date of birth: 27 August 1966
  • Age: 56 years old (as of January 2022)
  • Nationality: English
  • Height in feet: 5'7"
  • Height in centimetres: 175
  • Appointment: 22 August 2019

The Liberia national football team's captain is Allen Njie, one of the club's best footballers. Here is a profile summary of the Lone Star's captain.

Allen Njie's profile summary

  • Full name: Allen Njie
  • Date of birth: 26 July 1999
  • Age: 23 years old (as of January 2022)
  • Place of birth: Barnersville, Liberia
  • Nationality: Liberian
  • Height in feet: 6'0"
  • Height in centimetres: 185
  • Position(s): central, attacking, and defensive midfielder.
  • Current team: The Lone Stars, FC Aarau
Liberia national football team player, captain.
The Lone Stars team captain and midfielder Allen Njie in action during the FIFA Qatar 2022 World Cup qualification football match against Nigeria in Lagos, 2021. Photo by Pius Utomi Ekpei / AFP.
Source: Getty Images

Liberia's national football team players

The greatest Liberian footballers include George Weah and Christopher Wreh, who played alongside each other to win the 1996 AFCON Cup. Today, some of the highest-ranked Liberian national team's top players include goalkeeper William Ashley and centre-forward Kpah Sherman.

Ashley's role in the Qatar World Cup 2022 preliminaries was critical in ensuring the club progressed. At the 95th minute, he saved a penalty kick from the Sierra Leone side. Have a look at the profile summary of the goalie, Ashley William

Ashley Williams profile summary

  • Full name: Ashley Williams
  • Date of birth: 30 October 2000
  • Age: 22 years old (as of January 2022)
  • Place of birth: Monrovia, Liberia
  • Nationality: Liberian
  • Height in feet: 6'1"
  • Height in centimetres: 186
  • Position(s): goalkeeper
  • Current team: The Lone Stars, LISCR FC

Here is a list of the club's 2022 players as listed on nationalfootballteams.com

Goalkeeper

  • Alpha Jalloh
  • Morlik Keita
  • Tommy Songo
  • Williams Ashley

Midfielder

  • Marcus Macauley
  • Seth Hellberg
  • Allen Njie
  • Salmon Justin
  • David Tweh
  • Kelvin Barclay
  • Blapoh Festus
  • Fred Brooks
  • Frederick Dennis
  • Quellie Julius

Forward

  • Alloy Brown
  • Harmon Van Dave
  • Kamara Abu
  • Ayouba Kosiah
  • Sylvanus Nimely
  • Terry Sackor
  • Kpah Sherman
  • Peter Wilson

Winger

  • Terrence Tisdell
  • Moussa Sanoh
  • Ledlum Edward
  • Sam Jackson
Liberia national football team players
The Lone Stars warm-up before the FIFA Qatar 2022 World Cup qualification football match between Nigeria and Liberia in Lagos, 2021. Photo by Pius Utomi Ekpei / AFP.
Source: Getty Images

Liberia's national football team FIFA world rankings

According to the latest FIFA rankings, the Lone Stars was ranked at the 144th position with 855.56 points. In 2007, the club received its highest ranking at position 66.

Liberia's national football team and other clubs in the country not only represent the country's talent internationally. They have a unifying function for the country rebuilding from civil war and an Ebola outbreak. Although the team did not qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2023, their hope to relive their historical shine still burns bright.

READ ALSO: South Africa's national football team: players, coach, AFCON, history

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Although the country was affected by the country's system of racial segregation, they still made it through soccer and is seen as one of the best teams worldwide. Read more about Bafana here!

Authors
Ciku Njuguna photo
Ciku Njuguna
Ciku Njuguna is a journalist with 3 year’s experience in content creation based in Kenya. She currently covers sports personnel as well as team biographies.