MTNFootball

Liberia’s most famous footballing son is of course George Weah, the only African player ever to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award, which he did in 1995. (also winning the European and African awards in the same year).

The former AC Milan striker did his utmost, not only on the field, but also with finances off the field, to boost his country’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup. However, the closest they have ever come was in 2002, when they missed out on the finals by a single point.

Liberia, who suffered years of civil war, have only qualified for the African Cup of Nations twice: in 1996 and 2002 – on both occasions they did not move beyond the first round. The highest ever FIFA ranking the ‘Lone Stars’ achieved was in mid 2001, when they were placed 66th on the FIFA list.

These days however, Liberia has slipped down to around the 160 mark, and finished bottom of their group for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

At present, there is a well structured leagues system running in the once war-torn country – there is a Premier League with 18 teams, a first division with 12 clubs, and a second divisions comprising of 11 teams.

Traditional big guns Mighty Barrolle have just wrapped up the Premiership title for 2009. Many of the current international side play their football in Liberia, with others participating in the European leagues such as Norway, Sweden, Greece, as well as the United States.

FIFA World Rankings

Country	Updated 07 Oct
159 Vanuatu	-21
160 Liberia	-17
161 Chinese Taipei	5

Africa Rankings

Country	Updated 07 Oct
42 Lesotho	4
43 Liberia	-17
44 Niger	-28

Team Info

Team History