Monrovia – A day after former Liberian president George Weah handed over power to current President Joseph Boakai, some Liberians have complained that football, under the leadership of the footballing president, did not meet their expectations.
By A. Macaulay Sombai, [email protected]
George Weah, one of Africa’s best football legends, served as president of Liberia for six years, but some Liberians say football suffered a serious setback under the Weah-led government. Football enthusiasts speaking to FrontPage Africa about Weah’s success and failure in football development expressed disappointment, stating that their expectations for the country’s number one sport were not met by a man they believed could deliver for Liberian football.
Moses Z. Jackson acknowledged that under former president Weah’s administration, there was a total setback in football development. He mentioned that Weah failed to listen to the calls of his former Lone Star teammates to collaborate on ideas that could have helped develop youth talents on the junior and senior national teams of Liberia.
Jackson agreed that Weah helped build children’s practice grounds around James Springs Field, including the Invincible Park, the Unification Peace Park in PHP, West Point Field, Clara Town Field, and D. Tweh Field, all transformed into artificial turf. However, he believes they are not up to standard.
He described Mr. Weah as Africa’s most successful football legend, a man who failed to focus his attention on football development in Liberia. Jackson said the former Liberian leader would be remembered as a football legend who never improved the game back home.
Abubaka Kenneh, another Liberian, told our reporter that Weah, as a football legend, traveled to major cities in Europe and Africa during his football career. He observed the developed football stadiums in those countries but failed to contribute to the construction of at least one such stadium in his beloved country, describing it as an absolute disgrace to Liberia and its people.
Kanneh highlighted his main disappointment, stating that under Weah’s administration, not a single football athlete benefited from him, and none of the Lone Star teams was successful in any African or world football competition. According to Kanneh, “Actually, my disappointment about Weah when it comes to the football arena is that he never helped make a way for any of our local and international football athletes to improve their talents or secure contracts with some of Africa’s major football clubs. Under his administration as president, the national football team of Liberia, the Lone Star, didn’t qualify for any major competition in African or world football.”
Samuel Davis described Weah’s construction of James Springs Payne, PHP, and the D. Tweh community sports grounds as beneficial only for people in those communities. He added that these fields are not up to standard for major football competitions. “Weah, one of the most successful football athletes not only in Liberia but the world at large, failed to get in contact with officials of some of the countries he played in to help him improve the talents of athletes who have a passion for the game of football.”