Underfunded Liberia Finishes Last at Handball Championship After Four Heavy Defeats
Handball match action in Cotonou, Benin (file photo; illustrative of the sport, not the Liberian team). Photo: public domain / Creative Commons, via Wikimedia Commons
Liberia's women's handball team finished bottom of the inaugural IHF Senior Women's Championship in Burkina Faso, conceding 223 goals to 56 across four lopsided losses after traveling to the tournament on a shoestring budget.
Liberia's national women's handball team has finished last at the inaugural IHF Senior Women's Championship in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, after four lopsided defeats capped a campaign the squad entered with no government funding and a self-financed, 1,500-kilometer road trip to the tournament.
The 26-member delegation lost 71-13 to Benin, 66-7 to Cote d'Ivoire, 38-16 to Togo, and 48-20 to Ghana, conceding 223 goals while scoring just 56 across the four matches, a goal difference of minus 167. The Liberia National Handball Association (LNHA) covered the team's transportation costs itself after receiving no backing from the Ministry of Youth and Sports or the central government.
"We can confirm that our National team performance did not meet expectations. However, we thank you all for your support over the period. We are going to do better in the next edition with your support," the LNHA said in a statement acknowledging the results.
The delegation was scheduled to return to Monrovia on September 9. Handball remains a minority sport in Liberia compared with football, and the campaign has renewed calls from within the federation for consistent government support rather than the ad hoc, self-funded arrangements that defined this year's trip.