Published: September 30, 2026
In a house full of boys, Francisca T. Howe did not have to look far to find football.
She has several brothers, and the game was everywhere she turned: on the fields where they played, in the conversations they carried home and among the community friends who joined them. Before long, it had drawn her in.
“I actually grew up in a house with a lot of boys because I have several brothers,” Howe said. “They were the ones who introduced me to football.”
By Destiny D. Jabula
There was no grand moment of discovery. A young girl spent her days around the boys, grew curious about the game they loved and eventually wanted to be part of it.
“Since I was always around them, I became interested in the game through them,” she recalled. “They made football feel normal to me. That’s how I started.”
That ordinary beginning led Howe to her first national youth team call-up in 2015, the captaincy of Liberia’s U-20 side and, today, the armband at Shaita Angels FC and a place on the Liberia Women’s National Team. She also holds a Confederation of African Football “C” coaching license.
Off the field, she describes herself as humble, hardworking, caring and family-oriented, someone who loves learning new things and encouraging others.
“I believe in respecting people and staying focused,” she said.
Between the girl who simply enjoyed being around the game and the woman now trusted to lead others, football taught Howe lessons far beyond the pitch. It taught her discipline, demanded sacrifice and eventually placed leadership on her shoulders.
A Dream That Had to Share Space With School
Football may have captured Howe’s heart, but her family made sure it never pushed the classroom aside. They were happy with the path she chose, she said, but they held to one condition: she had to stay in school and study.
“My family was happy with the path I chose,” Howe said. “They wanted me to take my education seriously, while supporting me in football. So I also understood that football was important, but school was also something I could not neglect.”
That balance became one of the quiet disciplines behind her career. Training, matches and travel competed for her time, sometimes taking her away from the same family that pushed her forward, while school had to fit into the same crowded schedule.
“Football has required me to sacrifice a lot of my time,” Howe said. “There are times you have to give up your free time because of training, matches, or travel. Sometimes you miss out on spending time with your family or friends.”
“Balancing football with school has also required discipline,” she added.
The First Call-Up
“It has been a long journey for me,” Howe said.
She started, she said, as a girl who played simply because she enjoyed the game. With time, football became more serious and began asking more of her.
By 2015, the game she had absorbed from the boys around her had taken her somewhere much bigger. She received her first call-up to the Liberia U-20 national team.
“One of my proudest moments was receiving my first call up to the Liberia U-20 national team in 2015,” Howe said. “It was an honor to represent my country at a young age, and it motivated me to work harder and continue growing as a player.”
The call-up did not mark an arrival. It raised the standard and gave Howe another reason to keep growing.
When the Armband Came With Responsibility
In 2019, Howe was appointed assistant captain of the Liberia U-20 team, working alongside Winnie B. Dorbah. Later, she became captain.
“I remember feeling proud because it showed that the coaches and people around the team trusted me,” she recalled. “I didn’t see it as being above anyone else.”
Instead, she saw herself as someone her teammates could depend on, on and off the pitch. The experience, she said, taught her about responsibility, leadership and teamwork, and about what it means to answer for other players.
“Looking back, becoming a former Liberia U-20 captain is something I’m really proud of,” she said.
But the armband also taught her that leadership does not begin and end with a match.
Learning to Lead When Things Get Hard
For Howe, the real test of a captain is not what happens when a team is winning. It is what happens when pressure rises, the plan stops working and teammates begin to wonder whether the game can still be turned around.
“There have been moments when things become difficult for the team, especially when we’re under pressure or things aren’t going the way we expected,” she said. “In those moments, I try to stay calm and encourage my teammates.”
Sometimes, leadership does not require a long speech.
“Sometimes you don’t need to say too much,” she said. “Just telling everyone to keep fighting and reminding them to stay focused we still have a chance can make a difference.”
That philosophy shapes the way she wears the captain’s role.
“For me, being captain is about responsibility,” Howe said. “It’s about being there for your teammates, encouraging them, listening to them, and helping the team stay together. You can’t just be a captain when things are going well. You have to be there when things are difficult too.”
“For me I think leadership is more about what you do than just wearing the armband,” she said.
When Being a Woman Becomes Part of the Fight
The football field has also given Howe a front-row view of what women face in sport.
“Yes, there are challenges that come with being a woman in football,” she said. “Sometimes people don’t take women’s football seriously, and you can feel that, and there can be stereotypes about what women can or cannot achieve in the sport. And you can hear comments or face situations that make you question yourself.”
She has learned not to give every outside opinion room in her head.
“It can be frustrating, but I try not to allow those things distract me,” she said. “I focus on improving myself and doing what I love.”
Her answer does not have to be loud. It is found in the work.
“For me the best response is to keep working and show what I can do on the field,” she said.
The People Who Kept Believing
Through the hard seasons, Howe has leaned first on her family, which she calls a very important source of support.
“They have always encouraged me,” she said. “I also appreciate the coaches, teammates, and other people who have supported me throughout my football journey. Having people who believe in you really helps when things get difficult.”
Football has also carried her far beyond the ground where she first watched her brothers play.
“Football has given me the opportunity to travel, meet different people, and experience different places and cultures,” Howe said.
More than the travel, she said, the game has changed the person she brings onto the field, making her more disciplined and confident and teaching her how to handle both the good moments and the bad.
Still Chasing More
For all the ground she has covered, Howe does not speak as though she has reached the final chapter.
She wants to keep improving, compete at higher levels, win more trophies and awards, represent Liberia well and keep growing as a leader. Her ambitions do not stop with herself.
“As a woman, I also want to inspire other young girls to believe in themselves and pursue their goals,” she said.
It is a responsibility she carries alongside her own career: to keep moving forward while leaving a little more room behind her for the next girl to follow.
What She Would Tell the Girl She Once Was
If Howe could sit across from the younger Francisca, the girl surrounded by brothers and slowly falling for their game, she would keep the message simple. She would tell her “to keep working hard, stay focused, listen to good advice, and never give up when things become difficult.”
It is advice born of experience. The road from that girl to national team player and captain has not been straight. There have been sacrifices, pressure, criticism and moments when perseverance mattered more than applause.
To the Girls Still Finding Their Way
Her message to girls at the beginning of that road makes no promise that it will be easy.
“To every young girl or young footballer out there who love the game, don’t give up,” she said. “I know it’s not always easy when people criticize you or don’t believe in you, but you have to believe in yourself first.”
Keep learning, she said, even when progress feels slow, and do not let other people’s opinions decide your future.
“If football is what you love, keep working for it,” Howe said.
Then comes a reminder that echoes the one her own family gave her years ago: ambition cannot come at the expense of discipline.
“Stay humble, stay focused, go to school and most importantly, enjoy the game,” she said. “You never know how far it will take you.”
A game introduced to her by her brothers became a passport to new places, a classroom for discipline, a test of resilience and a platform from which she now encourages another girl to dream.
The journey did not begin with an armband. It began with a girl watching the boys play.
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