Published: May 25, 2026
MONROVIA — Determine Girls FC clinched a sixth consecutive Liberia Football Association Upper Women’s League title Tuesday after the LFA Disciplinary Committee found Shaita Angels FC guilty of fielding three foreign players with expired work and residence permits, stripping the club of points accumulated across multiple matches.
The ruling, triggered by protests from Determine Girls and World Girls FC, effectively ended what had been shaping up as the most serious challenge to Determine Girls’ five-year stranglehold on the women’s league.
The committee found that Nigerian players Mary Nunoo, Comfort Osei Frimpong and Kaddy Jarju had permits that expired Jan. 1, 2026, rendering them ineligible for league competition. Investigators said the LFA Connect registration platform had already rejected attempts to register the players because of the invalid documentation, but Shaita Angels fielded them anyway.
The committee described the decision as “willful and intentional.”
Determine Girls and World Girls were each awarded victories, three points and two goals. Shaita Angels were ordered to forfeit every match in which the three players appeared, with all affected opponents receiving three points and two goals from those fixtures.
The sanctions upended what had been a tight title race. Shaita Angels had been set to face Determine Girls in a decisive final-day clash May 27, with Determine Girls leading the standings by a single point. The forfeited points made that match academic, handing Determine Girls the title outright.
The ruling also landed a blow to Shaita Angels ahead of the Orange Cup final against World Girls on May 30. The three foreign players received one-year suspensions from all LFA-organized competitions, leaving the club without them for the cup match.
The sanctions compound an already troubled period for the club. President Benita Urey is serving a separate suspension linked to allegations of match manipulation.
What began as a potential breakthrough season for Shaita Angels ended in forfeited points, suspensions and a league title lost off the pitch.
Shaita Angels has appealed the ruling, arguing the players held valid documents and were properly registered through LFA Connect. The case goes before the LFA Appeals Committee.
Kneeling Warriors Also Punished
In a separate ruling, the Disciplinary Committee found Kneeling Warriors FC guilty of fielding Nigerian player Zainab Oluwadamilare Salaudeen without valid permits during an April 24 league match against Small Town Football Academy at Tusa Field in Gardnersville.
The committee said Salaudeen started the match at jersey No. 18 despite the Connect system having rejected the club’s registration attempt because of incomplete permit documentation. Small Town Football Academy was awarded the match result with three points and two goals. Salaudeen received a one-year ban from all LFA competitions, and Kneeling Warriors were ordered to forfeit every match in which she appeared.
The LFA cited Chapter 2, Article 3 and Article 12 of its foreign player registration regulations in imposing the penalties.
The back-to-back rulings raise pointed questions about enforcement gaps in the LFA’s registration system. Several football observers have questioned why players cleared on matchdays were later found ineligible when the Connect platform had already flagged their documentation, suggesting the governing body faces internal coordination issues it will need to address before the next competition cycle.
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