Published: December 1, 2025
MONROVIA — Liberian First Division club LISCR FC has appointed former Ethiopia national team coach Wubetu Abate as its new head coach on a one-year contract, the club announced Sunday.
“LISCR Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Ethiopian tactician Wubetu Abate as the new head coach of the Shipping Boys,” the club said in a statement, adding that the contract includes an option for extension based on performance.
Abate joins LISCR after finishing his time with Ethiopian Premier League club Fasil Kenema at the end of the 2024–25 season. He has previously coached several top Ethiopian clubs and now becomes only the second Ethiopian manager to work in Liberia, following Selam Zeray, who is currently the head coach of Liberia’s women’s national team.
He takes over a LISCR squad sitting second in the Liberian First Division with 20 points and is expected to strengthen the club’s title push.
A former player, Abate carries an impressive coaching résumé. He led Ethiopian Coffee to its only league championship since the top flight’s restructuring in 1997, winning the 2010–11 title. He later revived Ethiopia’s national team, guiding the Walias to qualification for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon and the 2022 African Nations Championship in Algeria.
LISCR supporters hope his experience in both club and international football will translate into renewed tactical discipline and continued success for one of Liberia’s most decorated teams.
The club also announced that Varmah Kpoto and Mohammed Sheriff will remain part of the first-team technical staff. Both have managed the squad since the start of the season and will now serve as Abate’s assistants.
Kpoto, a former Liberia national team defender, joined LISCR after leaving Junior Professional following their relegation to the Third Division. He replaced Belgian coach Alain-André Landeut, who resigned just two months into his tenure citing personal reasons.
As acting head coach, Kpoto recorded six wins, three losses and two draws in 11 matches, guiding LISCR to second place before Abate’s arrival.
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