By Danesius Marteh,
Contributor,
Oscar Murphy Dorley will be the only Liberian participating in the league phase (formerly group stage) of the 2025/2026 Uefa Champions League.
Dorley was named in a 23-man squad by Slavia Prague on their Facebook page on 3 September.
Compatriots Divine Teah and Emmanuel Fully were omitted as Slavia return to Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since the 2019/2020 season.
Some Liberians, who were carried away by the social media hype, will be disappointed by their exclusion.
Teams, who directly qualified for the draw through their leagues’ positions or from the playoffs, had to submit their final squads on 2 September.
Contrary to reports in Liberia, Divine and Fully are ineligible to make Slavia’s B List in keeping with article 31.12 of the regulations.
It says “a player may be registered on List B if he is born on or after 1 January 2004 and has, since his 15th birthday, been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years, or a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year.”
Slavia open their campaign at home to Norway’s Bodo/Glimt on 17 September and travel to Italy’s Inter Milan on 30 September.
They are away to Italy’s Atalanta on 22 October and at home to England’s Arsenal on 4 November.
Slavia welcome Spain’s Athletic Bilbao on 25 November and visit England’s Tottenham Hotspurs on 9 December.
The league phase ends with Spain’s Barcelona at home on 21 January and away to Cypriot side Pafos on 28 January 2026.
Divine and Fully may feature for Slavia, who will be entitled to register three new players, if they qualify for the knockout on or before 5 February 2026 in keeping with article 32.01.
