By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
ACLSportsACLSportsACLSports
9
Notification Show More
NewsNWFLWomen's Football
Bayelsa Queens ramp up WAFU prep with friendly wins
22 hours ago
#YourSportsMemoBlogsNewsSuper FalconsWomen's Football
WAFCON 2024 Semifinal Preview: Nigeria vs South Africa
22 hours ago
#YourSportsMemoBlogsNewsSuper Falcons
WAFCON Diary Six: hotels, hot showers and suspicious pepper soup
1 day ago
CompetitionFootballNewsSuper Eagles
CAF GS Mosengo-Omba impressed by CHAN 2024 Readiness
1 day ago
Age-Group FootballFootballNews
U20WAFUB: Flying Eagles to battle Ivory Coast in final
2 days ago
BlogsGrassrootsNaijaheroesNews
All Africa Games 1999: host’s hostility and “God of TB Joshua”
2 days ago
BasketballCompetitionNews
FIBA U19 WWC: Junior D’Tigress finish 12th in historic debut
3 days ago
NewsWomen's Football
Fenerbahçe confirm Sabastine Flourish Chioma signing 
3 days ago
BlogsCompetitionNewsWomen's Football
WAFCON 2024 Semifinals: Powerhouses clash as line-up is confirmed
3 days ago
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • Football
  • Naijaheroes
  • Grassroots
  • Basketball
  • Athletics
  • News
  • More
    • Laughter, Leather & Losses
    • #YOURSPORTSMEMO Podcast
    • Blogs
    • Competition
Reading: From the Pitch to Presidency: Can George Weah make it this time?
Share
Font ResizerAa
ACLSportsACLSports
Search
  • Home
  • Laughter, Leather & Losses
  • Football
  • Naijaheroes
  • Grassroots
  • Basketball
  • Athletics
  • News
  • #YourSportsMemo
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
ACLSports > Blog > Football > From the Pitch to Presidency: Can George Weah make it this time?
FootballNews

From the Pitch to Presidency: Can George Weah make it this time?

Kingsley Kobo
Last updated: October 9, 2017 9:10 pm
Kingsley Kobo
Published: October 9, 2017
Share
As featured on NewsNow: Sport news
Sport News 24/7 

Former Ballon d’Or winner George Oppong Weah, is among 20 candidates vying for Liberia’s presidency, as some 2.1 million people go to the polls on Tuesday Oct. 10 to elect a new leader of the West African nation after 12 years under Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female president.

Weah, now 51, is not new to politics and the presidential race. After hanging up his boots in 2003, he founded the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) party under which he ran for the 2005 presidential elections, emerging as winner of the first round but losing the runoff to Sirleaf.

It was a heartbreaking experience for the former AC Milan and Paris Saint Germain striker, who was counting on his pitch popularity to plough through a political terrain rendered vulnerable by 15 years of armed conflicts. While Weah maintains the 2005 presidential runoff was rigged in favour of his female opponent (after initially winning 28.3% of the vote in the first round, Weah lost the runoff 40.6% against 59.4% for Sirleaf), his critics believed the former Liberia captain, who singlehandedly sponsored the team during the country’s civil war, was not given the mandate because of his poor educational background.

Weah did not progress beyond high school by then while Sirleaf in contrast, was educated at Harvard in the United States and formerly worked at the World Bank and the United Nations and also served as Liberia’s minister of finance in the 1970s.

A new challenge for the former goal poacher?
Weah boasts of 193 goals from 411 club matches and 22 goals for the Lone Stars, but failed to score in the November 8, 2005 runoff against Sirleaf.

- Advertisement -

In a sportsmanship spirit, the former Monaco man, who had spells in Ivory Coast (Africa Sport) and Cameroon (Tonnerre Yaounde), accepted defeat and went back to the drawing board. What went wrong and what needed to be done, a university degree?

He backed out of the political scene and enrolled to study business administration at DeVry University in Miami, graduating and returning to Liberia in 2009 ahead of the 2011 presidential elections.

Contrary to wide expectations, Weah declined to be on top of the CDC ticket for the vote, standing as a running mate to Winston Tubman, a former justice minister and diplomat. Both men were defeated by Sirleaf, who clinched, in a landslide, a second six-year term following a boycott by CDC in the runoff to protest against an alleged rigging in the first round.

Three years later, Weah decided to play from the back and organise his defence and midfield properly, which he deemed as sine qua non for future success.
Playing from the back meant running for a lower political post such as the Senate. And on December 20, 2014, Weah defeated Robert Sirleaf, son of president Sirleaf, 78% to 11 % to represent Montserrado County, becoming the first Liberian athlete to be elected in the Legislature.

Three years more, time is ripe to attempt the ultimate again – the Presidency.
Weah will be running against a couple of other big guns notably outgoing vice president Joseph Boakai, prominent businessmen Alexander Cummings and Benoni Urey; former central bank governor Mills Jones and opposition figure Charles Brumskine.

Weah’s choice of running mate, Jewel Howard-Taylor, the ex-wife of former president Charles Taylor, has been slammed by many pundits. However, others believe it could be a sound weight for the former footballer whose campaign promises of better education and job creation have gained huge traction amongst the youths and middle age who keeping seeing him as the best candidate for change.

Initial results are expected before end of the week.

U20WAFUB: Flying Eagles drawn with Ghana 
“Goal Contributions” Prove Football Is NOT Mathematics
AFCON2019Q: Gernot Rohr invites Ndifreke to replace Aina
NWFL: Ezenagu, Whyte impress in Rivers Angels defeat 
Plateau Peacocks Abdulkadri dedicates trophy to Saidu, state govt
TAGGED:George WeahLiberia
Share This Article
Facebook Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Previous Article Mane, Aubameyang in 30 man list for Ballon d’Or award
Next Article Weightlifting: Six Nigerians hit Uganda for Africa Youth/Junior Championships
Leave a Comment

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Categories

YourSportsMemo

Latest News

Bayelsa Queens ramp up WAFU prep with friendly wins
News NWFL Women's Football
WAFCON 2024 Semifinal Preview: Nigeria vs South Africa
#YourSportsMemo Blogs News Super Falcons Women's Football
WAFCON Diary Six: hotels, hot showers and suspicious pepper soup
#YourSportsMemo Blogs News Super Falcons
CAF GS Mosengo-Omba impressed by CHAN 2024 Readiness
Competition Football News Super Eagles

Stay Connected

FacebookLike
XFollow
InstagramFollow

Archives

Latest News

Fenerbahçe confirm Sabastine Flourish Chioma signing 
News Women's Football
WAFCON 2024 Semifinals: Powerhouses clash as line-up is confirmed
Blogs Competition News Women's Football
WAFCON Diary Five: Bread, five goals and a driver with a proposal
#YourSportsMemo Blogs News Super Falcons

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 14.8K other subscribers
ACLSportsACLSports
Follow US
© ACLSports. All Rights Reserved.
adbanner