9 facts about Liberia president-elect George Weah
Former world footballer of the year, George Weah, has been announced as the winner of Liberia’s presidential run-off beating vice president Joseph Boakai.
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Weah is set to replace incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who leaves office after serving two terms.
Following the feat achieved by the ex-footballer turned politician, Legit.ng has gathered 9 facts about the next Liberian president as seen below:
1. Arsene Wenger brought George Weah to Europe where he signed for Monaco in 1988
2. Weah football career saw him move to Paris Saint German in 1992 where he won Ligue 1 in 1994 and became the top scorer of the 1994-95 UEFA Champions League.
3. The footballer turned politician signed for AC Milan in 1995 where he spent four successful seasons, and won the Italian Serie A, twice. His most notable goal in Italy saw him run the length of the field against Verona.
4. He moved to the English Premier League towards the end of his career and had spells at Chelsea and Manchester City, before returning to France to play for Marseille in 2001, and subsequently ending his career with Al-Jazira in 2003.
5. Weah represented Liberia at the African Cup of Nations on two occasions. He played 60 games for Liberia over 20 years, scoring 22 goals.
6. Weah is regarded as being among the best football players who never got the chance to play at a World Cup.
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7. He contested in the Liberia 2005 presidential election but lost to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the second round of voting.
8. Weah was elected to the Senate in 2014.
9. He will be the only retired professional footballer to have achieved the feat of emerging as the president of a country.
Legit.ng had earlier reported that George Weah was finally been declared winner of the electoral run-off in the country after beating his opponent, Joseph Boakai, the BBC has reported.
The report quoted the National Elections Commission (NEC) as saying on Thursday, December 28, that Weah had won 61.5 percent of the vote while Boakai was far behind with 38.5 percent.
It added that Weah, 51, through the Coalition for Democratic Change, won the hearts of most of the youths as his rival was seen as old at 73.
Weah had won the first round of the election in October with 38.4 percent vote against the 28.8 percent won by Boakai leading to the run-off.
The report however says Weah’s election has some controversies as his running mate, Jewel Taylor, is the former wife of the warlord and ex-President Charles Taylor, who is still serving a jail term in the UK for war crimes.
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Source: Legit.ng
