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, 23, is a professional player of kickball, a close cousin of baseball that is beloved by women in Liberia and played all over the country from schoolyards to public squares and dirt fields. Since its introduction in the 1960s, 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 game in other places.

There also are no male players.

“In Liberia, (kickball) is our tradition,” said Jimmie, who noted many girls start playing kickball from an early age. “This is why you see women playing kickball in Liberia.”

In 1964, 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 quickly 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 5.6 million people.

“When you’re a girl growing up in Liberia, you will play kickball,” Whea said.

Kickball is played in other parts of the world, including in the United States, where it is a common elementary school game for girls and boys. But only in Liberia is there a women-only professional league.

The National Kickball League was created in 1994 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 said. “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 game to other African countries. However, his mission has been complicated by a lack of resources, especially in a region where women's sports often are underfunded.

Saydah A. Yarbah, a 29-year-old mother of two, admits it is hard to make ends meet on her athlete's salary despite playing kickball for 10 years. Her earnings are “not even near” what male athletes earn, she said.

In Liberia, many 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 officials.

The league encourages women but they really don’t want to be coaches, Whea said.

"Their husbands might have a problem with them working full-time (and) for some, their relationship will not allow it,” he said

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 said.

“They are not going to play kickball for now,” she said. “But probably in the future, they are going to introduce kickball to men.”

For the moment, kickball remains a women's game. Men sometimes come during their practice, Yarbah said, but they do not stand a chance.

"They don’t know the techniques of the game,” she said. “So we always win.”

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Teams in Liberia's professional kickball league play a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Risemberg)

A kickball pitcher winds up before throwing a ball during a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Risemberg)

Women on the Girls of Aries kickball team, part of Liberia's professional kickball league, talk together before a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Risemberg)

A kickball player prepares to kick the ball during a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Risemberg)

Women on the Girls of Aries kickball team, part of Liberia's professional kickball league, talk together before a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Risemberg)

Perryline Jimmie, 23, on the Gisa kickball team, poses for a photo after a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Risemberg)

Teams in Liberia's professional kickball league play a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Risemberg)

A kickball pitcher winds up before throwing a ball during a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Risemberg)

Women on the Girls of Aries kickball team, part of Liberia's professional kickball league, talk together before a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Risemberg)

A kickball player prepares to kick the ball during a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Risemberg)

Women on the Girls of Aries kickball team, part of Liberia's professional kickball league, talk together before a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Risemberg)

Tampa Bay (7-8) at Miami (6-9)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, FOX

BetMGM NFL odds: Buccaneers by 5 1/2

Against the spread: Buccaneers 5-10; Dolphins 7-8.

Series record: Buccaneers lead 7-5.

Last meeting: Buccaneers beat Dolphins 45-17 on Oct. 10, 2021, in Tampa, Fla.

Last week: Buccaneers lost to Panthers 23-20; Dolphins lost to Bengals 45-21.

Buccaneers offense: overall (23), rush (20), pass (22), scoring (18).

Buccaneers defense: overall (22), rush (7), pass (27), scoring (24).

Dolphins offense: overall (24), rush (13), pass (25), scoring (22).

Dolphins defense: overall (19), rush (26), pass (14t), scoring (22).

Turnover differential: Buccaneers plus-8; Dolphins minus-5.

WR Mike Evans. He has 11 catches for 163 yards and one TD in two games since returning from a broken clavicle. The six-time Pro Bowl wideout's streak of 1,000 yards receiving is going to end at 11 because of injuries that limited him to just six games this season.

QB Quinn Ewers. The rookie is set to make the second start of his career after throwing for 260 yards with two interceptions last week against Cincinnati. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said he was impressed by Ewers' composure in his first start, even when the team unraveled in the second half, which McDaniel said earned the quarterback another start.

Tampa Bay's receivers vs Dolphins secondary. Miami's defensive backs had trouble covering Cincinnati receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins last week, allowing them to combine for 12 catches, 162 yards and a touchdown. Miami will go against another pair of elite receivers in Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka. When Tampa Bay and Miami last met, Evans caught six passes for 118 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Buccaneers: Pro Bowl LT Tristan Wirfs (toe) and OLB Anthony Nelson (knee) missed practice time this week.

Dolphins: C Aaron Brewer (neck), S Minkah Fitzpatrick (calf) and LB Tyrel Dodson (chest) missed practice time this week. ... DT Benito Jones (back) and TE Darren Waller (groin) were limited.

Sunday's matchup will be the Bucs' first time playing the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium since 2017. ... They have never met in the postseason.

The Buccaneers have played in seven games decided by three or fewer points this season, tied with the 1979 team for most in a single season in franchise history. They're 5-2 in those games with two straight losses. ... QB Baker Mayfield has thrown six interceptions in the past six games after only two in the first nine. ... WR Emeka Egbuka needs 90 yards to become the third rookie in club history to reach 1,000, joining Michael Clayton (1,193 in 2004) and Mike Evans (1,051 in 2014). ... RB Sean Tucker leads the team with seven rushing TDs on 80 carries. ... LB Lavonte David last week became the seventh player to reach 1,700 tackles. ... K Chase McLaughlin has made 16 straight field goals and is 11-for-11 from 50 yards or longer, a record for most kicks from that distance without a miss in a single season. ... With their loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last week, the Dolphins are ensured a losing season for the second straight year after finishing 8-9 and missing the playoffs in 2024. ... The Dolphins have been outscored 42-19 the past two weeks. ... RB De'Von Achane was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career after a standout third season in which he surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the first time. Achane is the first Dolphins player to total 2,000 rushing yards along with 1,000 yards receiving in his first three NFL seasons. He also is the fifth Dolphin to reach 2,000 rushing yards in his first three years in the NFL. ... WR Jaylen Waddle needs 90 yards in the final two games of the season to reach 1,000 yards receiving for the fourth time in his five-year career. ... Ewers became the ninth rookie in Dolphins history to start a game at quarterback, joining Skylar Thompson (2022), Tua Tagovailoa (2020), Ryan Tannehill (2012), John Beck (2007), Dan Marino (1983), David Woodley (1980), Bob Griese (1967) and Rick Norton (1966). His 260 passing yards were the second most by a Dolphins rookie quarterback in their first career start behind Dan Marino, who had 322 in his first start against Buffalo in 1983.

Evans and Egbuka could be in for big games against Miami's defense, which has struggled to slow down dynamic receivers and has been inconsistent this season.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Miami Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers looks to throw during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Carolina Panthers safety Lathan Ransom breaks up a pass intended for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)