| George Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah was born in 1966 in Liberia. As a child he had big dreams of being a telephone operator in his hometown of Monrovia. It was a blessing for the world that particular dream did not come true. Instead, George Weah became the best soccer player in the world and one of the most inspirational human beings as well.
Nicknamed the "Lion King" and "King George" by people of Liberia, George Weah has managed to collect almost every athletic accolade that can be awarded to an international soccer player. In 1995 be became the only player in history to have ever been named the European, African and FIFA Player of the Year in the same year. He has won numerous soccer awards in his home continent but none as great as being named the African Player of the Century in 1998. This award allows him to share company with other soccer greats such as Pele who earned this honor for South America and Franz Beckenbauer, Europe's Player of the Century. He was also inducted into the FIFA Hall of Fame in 1999. He has constantly been an offensive threat on every team he has played and has brought league championships to Monaco, Paris St.-Germain, AC Milan and Chelsea.
Children across the world emulate his grace on the field but it is his presence and charity off the field that has caught the attention of the world. George Weah was allowed to dream as a child. He dreamt about playing in the World Cup. Now, he is allowing an entire nation to dream of peace and prosperity, through the adventures of a little soccer team from Liberia. In a world where money talks and where top players in the world put pressure on national clubs demanding huge paychecks before they put on national colors, George Weah would rather give millions of his own money to help fund the Lone Stars, the Liberian National Team, on their quest for a World Cup berth. Liberia, a country that has been dealing with a violent civil war for the past decade, was threatened to be taken off the world soccer map. The reason it hasn't is George Weah.
Not only has George Weah spent his own money buying uniforms for his team, paying for airplane tickets and even paying coaching fees, he has spent money in creating charity foundations that will help people in his poverty stricken Liberia and other nations in Africa. He has set up the George Weah foundation in which proceeds from Lone Star exhibition games are set aside to help those affected by the Liberian Civil War. He is serving as a chairman for UNICEF as one of its special sports representatives and serves as an ambassador for the SOS Children's Village Enneralde, South Africa. Most importantly he has dedicated himself to a charity that deals with much more than money. It deals in hope. The hope that Liberia can thrive under grim national circumstances and that through sport, positive leadership and strong national support Liberia can be united again. |
Liberia