My name is Prince Saydee. I was born on February 20th, 1993, in Monrovia, Liberia, the capital of the country, and I started playing soccer when I was thirteen years old. Soccer was something that not only brought the Monrovian community together, but it connected the entire country.
Soccer had always been popular in Liberia, but it became especially popular around the time I was born because of George Weah, the current president of Liberia. Before he became a politician, he was a Liberian footballer who played in the English Premier League and won the FIFA World Best award in 1995, when I was two years old. He was the country’s superstar, and his international achievements sparked the popularity of soccer in Liberia. I remember growing up, I lived close to the beach and would play pickup soccer there with my friends every day that we could.
“It wasn’t safe, it wasn’t a stable way to live.”
Despite how much I enjoyed it, I didn’t always have the opportunity to play soccer in my childhood. I was born in the middle of the Liberian Civil War, which lasted from the late 80s up until the early 2000s and killed 250,000 people. It’s difficult to remember the details of what life was like at the time, but I can tell you that it was not safe. Families were just trying to survive to see the next day and many lost their loved ones. The war made a lasting impact on my community and the country, making our daily lives unpredictable. We never knew if we were ever going to be completely safe again. Throughout my early childhood, the war and violence that came with it would last for eight to nine months, then it would stop for a few weeks, months, and sometimes even years. Things would be normal and quiet, children would go back to school, we’d play soccer on the beach in the afternoons, and then, the war would start again, and we would have to go back to living in fear. We had to stay inside, we couldn’t go to school, and it wasn’t a stable way to live.
“It was a sign that we were moving forward.”
The war ended in 2003, but not before leaving its mark on the country. It created devastating situations and setbacks for families who lost their loved ones. It took us a long time to move on from the war as a country. However, one of the first things that came back when the war ended was soccer. A lot of organizations began to host peace and reconciliation tournaments that helped raise money for recovery purposes. Soccer helped bring the people of Liberia together to enjoy the game that we loved. At the beginning of an extremely difficult recovery period, playing soccer was one of the first actions that began to heal our country that was bleeding. It was a sign that we were moving forward and the country was becoming safe and stable.
I continued to play pickup soccer and started playing organized soccer when I entered high school at 14 years old. I played for my high school and for my local youth club, but the lower divisions of soccer in Liberia weren’t well-structured and weren’t taken very seriously. We played legitimate games in our league, but it was still something that we would do just for fun. That’s all soccer was to me at the time: just something I loved to do for fun. I was in love with the game for as long as I could remember, but it wasn’t something that I took very seriously until my later teenage years.
“All of a sudden, I was a professional soccer player.”
I finished high school at 17-years-old and shortly after graduating, I played in a peace and reconciliation tournament with my community team and there were coaches from the Liberian Premier League in attendance. I was never seen as one of the best players in my age group on my community team or in high school, so I didn’t think I’d draw any attention from the coaches. I just played the tournament game like any other one I played in my life, and I was contacted by a coach from Barrack Young Controllers (BYC) FC after the game. They were a first division club that played in the Liberian Premier League, the highest level of soccer in the country. He invited me to try out for their first team, and I signed a two-year contract with them a few weeks later. All of a sudden, I was a professional soccer player at 17-years-old.
After playing a season with BYC, I was called up to the U19 Liberia National team. This was not only one of the greatest honors of my soccer career, but of my life. As a competitor, it was such a great feeling to be deemed as one of the best players in the country because, as I said, I wasn’t looked at as a great player growing up. At the same time, I felt lucky and humbled to have progressed from high school soccer to the Liberian Premier League, all the way up to the national team. A lot of kids in my country aren’t as fortunate as I was, but I can proudly say that I earned it each step of the way and made the most of the opportunities I was given.
I ended up playing five seasons with BYC. Over those five years, I made a handful of appearances with the Liberia U20 and U23 national teams. After my final season with BYC, I got called up to the Liberia first team for the World Cup and AFCON Qualifiers. I played in one game in each tournament, and it was an amazing experience to represent my country on the international stage.
Once my time with BYC ended, I pursued an opportunity to play with a Slovakian club that was interested in me called Slovan Bratislava, of the Slovakian Super Liga. I flew there with the intention and expectation of signing with the club. I trained with them for a week and I played well, the coach told me to just keep doing what I was doing and there would be a roster spot for soon. My agent also called me and told me that they planned to offer me a contract that weekend. Then, in a case of disastrous timing, I got sick with malaria. I was really ill and had to go back to Liberia. By the time I was healthy again, Slovan Bratislava’s roster was filled.
While I didn’t have a club to play for, I was determined to get back to playing professionally. In 2019, my family had an opportunity to move to the U.S. My Uncle was already there living in New York, and my Aunt lived in Florida. She helped us file our paperwork, and I decided to make the move to the U.S. with my family and pursue a professional club to play for.
“I was challenged more than I ever had been.”
We got to New York City in the beginning of 2019. My family and I were living with my Uncle at the time, and I began training right away. I played pickup games wherever I could and after a few months, I got a call from Phoday Dolleh, a friend of mine from back home who was helping build a National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) team in Atlanta called Atlanta SC. He invited me to come tryout for the team, and I took a chance on the opportunity.
I lived with Phoday in Atlanta and earned a spot on the roster after training with the team in preseason. I was so happy to be back playing again and I had a great season, scoring some of the best goals of my career. Towards the end of the season, we got to play in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) tournament against Miami FC. We drew 2-2, I scored a goal and was voted to the NISA Team of the Week a few days later. A coach from Miami contacted me that week, saying he liked the way I played, and he wanted me to come play for them next season, which was great timing because Miami was set to move up to the USL Championship in 2020. So, after six months in Atlanta, I signed with Miami FC.
After COVID-19 delayed the start of the 2020 season, I started training in Miami. It was really exciting to be a part of a team in its first season in the USL Championship, and it was a great place to live and play soccer. The level of play was a step up for me as well. I was challenged more than I ever had been back home or in Atlanta, but I felt that my play improved with that challenge. I played in 11 games, scored a goal, had three assists, and felt that I took a big step in my career as a player.
After one season with Miami, I signed a one-year contract with Phoenix Rising FC. It was hard to leave a place as beautiful as Miami, but I was excited because I knew that the club had an impressive history in the league, having won the western conference regular season title the year before. We made it back to the playoffs in 2021, which was an incredible experience. We hosted a playoff game that created an awesome atmosphere, but unfortunately lost in penalty kicks to Rio Grande Valley FC. Despite a disappointing end to the season, I was happy with the season that I had. I doubled my appearances from the year before, scored another goal, and got a taste of the league playoffs.
“When I’m playing soccer, I am running free.”
I got a taste of European soccer when I was in Slovakia, but that was a very small sample size, having been there for just a week. When I look back on my time in Atlanta, Miami, and Phoenix, it was my first time embracing a brand of soccer that was different from what I was used to in Liberia, and there was a lot for me to learn. When I played back home, I had raw talent. I didn’t know how to play the game from a tactical standpoint, though. I could just play with more speed and skill than my opponent, but I wasn’t going to be able to survive on just pure skill in American soccer. I had to learn what my role was in certain formations, how to time my runs well, how to defend, how to break lines and drop deep, etc. I feel lucky to have such a deep knowledge of the game now, and it inspires me to eventually go back to Liberia and help the next generation of soccer players once I’m finished playing here. I want to be able to share my story and the things I’ve learned on and off the field, but I especially want to teach kids about soccer outside of Liberia because it’s a much broader game than how I thought of it back home.
As my journey continues, I am reminded that the game of soccer has meant so much to me in my life. It has been my safe place. Back home after the war, playing soccer is where kids in Liberia found peace and felt happiness. I just love playing the game. When I play soccer, I am running free.
I signed with Hartford Athletic before the 2022 season and it’s great being here. I feel very respected by Coach Watling, my teammates, the organization, and the fans. It’s a passionate city that really cares about the club and I’ve been fortunate for the opportunity to play as much as I have so far. We have a group of great guys with tons of talent, and if we keep sticking together, we will do great things as a team.
