In Liberia’s version of baseball, there are no bats and no men
MONROVIA Liberia AP It was a perfect pitch The ball sped straight across home plate where it was met with an equally powerful kick Perryline Jimmie sprinted toward first base after her kick as her teammates erupted in cheers on the sidelines Jimmie is a professional athlete of kickball a close cousin of baseball that is beloved by women in Liberia and played all over the country from schoolyards to community squares and dirt fields Since its introduction in the s it has become the nation s second-most popular sport after soccer Kickball in Liberia has the rules of baseball but there are no bats and players kick a soccer ball instead of the larger lightweight ball used for the event in other places There also are no men In Liberia kickball is our tradition mentioned Jimmie who noted various girls start playing kickball from an early age This is why you see women playing kickball in Liberia How kickball came to Liberia In Peace Corps volunteer Cherry Jackson noticed that unlike boys the students at the all-girls school where she taught in Monrovia the capital didn t play any sports according to Emmanuel Whea president of Liberia s National Kickball League Jackson an American tried to teach the girls baseball but speedily realized they were much better at hitting the ball with their feet That was the start of what became a custom for girls in the country of about million people When you re a girl growing up in Liberia you will play kickball Whea explained Kickball is played in other parts of the world including in the United States where it is a common elementary school tournament for girls and boys But only in Liberia is there a women-only professional league A league for women and peace The National Kickball League was created in to bring people together as Liberia was reeling from a civil war The league was set up to bring the ladies together and use them as part of the reconciliation process of Liberia Whea mentioned We had just left the civil war and everybody had just scattered So kickball was one of those sports used to bring Liberians together so they could have the time to hear the peace messages Whea has big plans for the league including expanding it to men and introducing the meeting to other African countries However his mission has been complicated by a lack of materials especially in a region where women s sports often are underfunded Saydah A Yarbah a -year-old mother of two admits it is hard to make ends meet on her athlete s salary despite playing kickball for years Her earnings are not even near what male athletes earn she disclosed An all-women sport headed by men In Liberia various sports including soccer are male-dominated Despite kickball being a sport played by women the league is led by men from the coaches to the referees and league bureaucrats The league encourages women but they really don t want to be coaches Whea announced Their husbands might have a complication with them working full time and for particular their relationship will not allow it he commented Yarbah plans to change that narrative by becoming a coach when she retires allowing her to share her passion for the sport with others including her two sons she explained They are not going to play kickball for now she explained But supposedly in the future they are going to introduce kickball to men For the moment kickball remains a women s competition Men sometimes come during their practice Yarbah disclosed but they do not stand a chance They don t know the techniques of the meeting she disclosed So we invariably win For more on Africa and advance https apnews com hub africa-pulse The Associated Press receives financial promotion for global soundness and rise coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation The AP is solely responsible for all content Find the AP s standards for working with philanthropies a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP org Source
