{"id":80897,"date":"2025-09-10T17:07:58","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T17:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/systemic-failures-behind-lone-stars-struggles"},"modified":"2025-09-10T17:20:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T17:20:34","slug":"systemic-failures-behind-lone-stars-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/systemic-failures-behind-lone-stars-struggles","title":{"rendered":"Systemic Failures Behind Lone Star’s Struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>Veteran Liberian journalist Wleh Bedell has sounded the alarm over the continuing struggles of the Liberia national football team, the Lone Star, following recent disappointing results in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.<\/p>\n

Bedell\u2019s comments come after the Lone Star squandered a 2-0 lead to settle for a 2-2 draw with Malawi and suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat to Tunisia.<\/p>\n

\u201cA win in the Malawi game could have taken the country second on the table and kept our hopes of a playoff spot alive,\u201d Bedell noted, underlining the magnitude of the missed opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problems with the Lone Star are enormous. It\u2019s not just the players, who are often unfairly maligned; it\u2019s a systemic issue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must be realistic and examine every aspect of Liberian football, as our national team\u2019s performance is at a low ebb.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bedell highlighted the team\u2019s failure to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) since 2002 as a stark indicator of the decline.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe phrases \u2018building\u2019 or \u2018rebuilding\u2019 have become cliche\u0301s. Since the end of the George Weah XI the greatest Liberian team in history everything that has followed has been topsy turvy, marked by disappointment, underachievement, and unfulfilled potential,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

He stressed the need for structural reforms \u201cEmphasis on grassroots football, a more competitive domestic league, adequate funding, and a structured football program are essential if Liberia hopes to return to relevance.According to the veteran Liberian Football writer Without the foundational pillars, the Lone Star will continue to underperform.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tracing the decline, Bedell cited historical results<\/p>\n

\u201cOn January 28, 2002, the Super Eagles of Nigeria beat the Lone Star 1-0 at the Mali 2002 AFCON, courtesy of Julius Agahowa. This marked the beginning of a new era, with Liberia losing 3-0 to Guinea in their first match of the AFCON 2004 qualifiers.\u201d He added that despite successive generations being labeled as \u201cnew teams,\u201d 23 years later, Liberia is still waiting for meaningful progress.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on past successes, Bedell recalled the glory days of the Weah-led generation, which began on July 26, 1986, at the SKD Stadium\u2019s Six-Nations tournament. That team, which included Simon Mattor, delivered consistent results and brought pride to Liberian football for over fifteen years.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, when will those glory days return? Fans no longer hold significant hope. The Lone Star have become journeymen, wandering from one disappointing campaign to another,\u201d Bedell wrote.<\/p>\n

He warned that the recent results against Malawi and Tunisia highlight the urgent need for reforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout structural reform and serious investment in football at all levels, the Lone Star will remain trapped in a cycle of mediocrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Liberia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. Veteran Liberian journalist Wleh Bedell has sounded the alarm over the continuing struggles of the Liberia national football team, the Lone Star, following recent disappointing results in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Bedell\u2019s comments come after the Lone Star squandered a 2-0 lead to settle for a 2-2 draw with Malawi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":80895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-80897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"\nSystemic Failures Behind Lone Star's Struggles - Liberia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Veteran Liberian journalist Wleh Bedell has sounded the alarm over the continuing struggles of the Liberia national foot ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/systemic-failures-behind-lone-stars-struggles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Systemic Failures Behind Lone Star's Struggles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Veteran Liberian journalist Wleh Bedell has sounded the alarm over the continuing struggles of the Liberia national foot ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/systemic-failures-behind-lone-stars-struggles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Liberia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-10T17:07:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-10T17:20:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2025\/09\/sm_1757512134.292925.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/systemic-failures-behind-lone-stars-struggles#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/systemic-failures-behind-lone-stars-struggles\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Systemic Failures Behind Lone Star’s Struggles\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-10T17:07:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-10T17:20:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/systemic-failures-behind-lone-stars-struggles\"},\"wordCount\":451,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/systemic-failures-behind-lone-stars-struggles#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2025\/09\/sm_1757512134.292925.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Liberia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/systemic-failures-behind-lone-stars-struggles#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/systemic-failures-behind-lone-stars-struggles\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/systemic-failures-behind-lone-stars-struggles\",\"name\":\"Systemic Failures Behind Lone Star's Struggles - 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