Tubmanburg is not a big place. It doesn’t get a lot of visitors, so the people got to know my unfamiliar face very quickly. Although I work mostly with children, my job has nothing to do with football, but I could see boys playing football everywhere.
In the beginning was Lions FC
Various boys aged about 7 to 11 began asking me one by one to give them a ball, every time I saw them. I promised I’d provide one, but only if they formed a team. We had a hilariously serious meeting where they chose the name Victor FC. They swapped it pretty quickly for Lions FC, which they’ve been ever since.
Baby Lions
‘Pass and Support’ and football code of conduct
I have been involved in Sport for Development and Peace in Liberia and elsewhere for 20 years, but often on a theoretical level. This was a chance to put some theories into action.
Meet the parents
Lions FC Girls roaring
The most amazing thing for me though has been Lions FC Girls, who just formed in the last month. A friend back in the UK contacted me about collecting football gear for the team. He asked me if there was a girls’ team they could also support. I said I had never even seen girls playing football. But I asked the Lions FC coach about girls’ football and he said his twin daughters (aged 12) had been pestering him to start a team. So we agreed they should put the word out among their friends. The next day, 21 turned up for the first practice. They were there all the time, but invisible to me.