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George Weah
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Image:Weah-01.JPG thumb|George Weah
'''George Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah''' (born
October 1,
1966 in
Monrovia) is a
Liberian politician and former
football (soccer) football player. In
1995, he was named
FIFA World Player of the Year,
European Footballer of the Year, and
African Footballer of the Year. He is considered to be one of the best African players of all time. Weah has since become a humanitarian and political figure in Liberia, and ran unsuccessfully in the
Liberian elections, 2005 2005 presidential election.
Personal life
Weah was born and raised in the Clara Town
slum of
Monrovia. He is a member of the
Kru ethnic group, which hails from south-eastern Liberia's
Grand Kru County, one of the poorest areas of the country. His parents were William T. Weah, Sr. and Anna Quayeweah. He was raised largely by his paternal grandmother, Emma Klonjlaleh Brown. He attended middle school at Muslim Congress and high school at Wells Hairston High School. Before his football career allowed him to move abroad, Weah worked for the Liberia Telecommunications Corporation as a
switchboard operator switchboard technician.
Weah has received a
Bachelor of Arts in
Sports Management from
Parkwood University in
London. This school was later decried as a
diploma mill and closed by the
Federal Trade Commission US Federal Trade Commission, in collaboration with the
British government. Also, in 1999, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Humanity from the
A.M.E. Zion University College in Liberia.
He is married to Clar Weah, an
USA American of
Jamaican descent, and is the father of three children: George Jr., Martha, and Timothy George. Weah was born Christian but converted to Islam. After his grandmother died he converted back to Christianity.
Football career
At club level, Weah started his career at
Invincible Eleven in his native Liberia and
Tonnerre Yaoundé in
Cameroon, before moving to Europe in 1988 to play for
AS Monaco FC Monaco, with whom he won the French Cup in 1991. In the 1990s Weah subsequently played for
Paris Saint Germain (1992 - 95), with whom he won the French league in 1994; and
A.C. Milan AC Milan (1995 - 2000), with whom he won the Italian league in 1996 and 1999. In 1995 he was named
European Footballer of the Year and
FIFA World Player of the Year. After leaving Milan in August 1999 Weah moved to
Chelsea F.C. Chelsea,
Manchester City F.C. Manchester City and
Olympique Marseille in quick succession, before leaving Marseille in May 2001 for
Al Jazira FC, in the
United Arab Emirates.
As successful as he was at club level, Weah was not able to bring over that success to the
Liberia national football team Liberian national team. He has done everything with the squad from playing to coaching to financing it, but Liberia failed to make a single
Football World Cup World Cup, falling just a point short in qualifying for the
Football World Cup 2002 2002 tournament. This has all led to Weah being known as one of the best footballers never to have played in a World Cup.
Humanitarianism
Weah is a devoted
humanitarian for his war-torn country. At the 2004
ESPY Awards, he won the
Arthur Ashe Courage Award for his efforts. Weah was named by
Pelé as one of the
FIFA 100 top 125 greatest living footballers in March
2004. He has also been named a
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, a role which he has suspended while he pursues a political career.
Football and children
Weah has tried to use football as a way to bring happiness and promote education for children in Liberia. In 1998, Weah launched a CD called
Lively Up Africa featuring the singer
Frisbie Omo Isibor and eight other African football stars. The proceeds from this CD went to children's programmes in the countries of origin of the athletes involved.
Weah is President of the Junior Professionals, a football team he founded in Monrovia in 1994. As a way to encourage young people to remain in school, the club's only requirement for membership is school attendance. Many of the young people, recruited from all over Liberia, have gone on to play for the Liberian national team.
Political career
Although he had denied interest in politics during his football career, in mid-
November 2004, Weah announced his intention to stand in the
October 2005 Liberia elections, 2005 presidential election, having previously been the subject of a petition urging him to run; he received a hero's welcome upon his arrival in
Monrovia in late November and was widely considered a favorite in the election. His eligibility was initially questioned due to debates over his citizenship (Weah having allegedly adopted French citizenship whilst at PSG; he has also lived in
Staten Island,
New York for many years now) but he was officially confirmed on
13 August 2005 as the candidate for the
Congress for Democratic Change when the election commission published its final list. He won the most votes of any candidate in the first ballot on
11 October, but did not secure the required overall majority. A run-off vote took place on
8 November, pitting Weah against former World Bank employee and finance minister,
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who won the vote and is now the first elected female president in Africa. Weah disputed the electoral process, but on
21 December 2005 he dropped his legal challenge. [http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-12-21T135754Z_01_SPI150258_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIBERIA-WEAH.xml&archived=False]
Politics
Much of Weah's politics are influenced by the recent
Second Liberian Civil War. Starting in 1999, the conflict came to a conclusion in 2003 when the United States stationed a
Marine Expeditionary Unit with 2300 Marines offshore while
Nigeria sent in
peacekeepers as part of a
Economic Community of West African States force, forcing President
Charles Taylor to resign on August 11, 2003 and flee into exile in
Nigeria. As a result, all of the candidates pushed for the politics of peace. During his campaign Weah repeatedly emphasized the need for UN's peace mission in his country, known as
UNMIL, to stay at least through the end of what would have been his first presidential term of office.
Weah's lack of experience and of a prestigious college degree weighed heavily against him during the campaign. Opponents believed that Weah could have been manipulated if elected. One positive aspect of Weah's lack of experience is the fact that he was not involved in Liberia's conflicts. However, some people see little risk in Weah becoming
Political corruption corrupt, as the football star is already quite wealthy.
Weah had also promised to bring low cost housing, electricity, running water, and better education to the countryside, where he himself lived for some time in the 1970s. He also called for the president's term in office to be reduced to four years from six.
{{start box}}
{{succession box|title=
European Footballer of the Year.html">Hristo Stoichkov
after=Matthias Sammer|years=1995}}
{{succession box|title=
FIFA World Player of the Year.html">Romário
after=Ronaldo LuÃs Nazário de Lima|Ronaldo|years=1995}}
{{end box}}
External links
-
Criticism of Weah's campaign for presidency
-
Biography on UNICEF's homepage
Category:1966 births Weah, George
Category:Living people Weah, George
Category:Liberian footballers Weah, George
Category:FIFA World Players of the Year Weah, George
Category:European Footballers of the Year Weah, George
Category:FIFA 100 Weah, George
Category:Liberian politicians Weah, George
Category:A.C. Milan players Weah, George
Category:Chelsea F.C. players Weah, George
Category:Manchester City F.C. players Weah, George
Category:Olympique de Marseille players Weah, George
Category:Paris Saint-Germain players Weah, George
bg:Джордж Уеа
da:George Weah
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ko:조지 웨아
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nl:George Weah
ja:ジョージ・ウェア
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nn:George Weah
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zh:乔治·维阿
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