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October 1
George Manneh Weah is from the Clara Town slum of Monrovia in Liberia, a part of Monrovia. He was abandoned by his father at the age of 3. His mother couldn’t afford to take care of her family and she left her children with their grandmother. Weah considers her his personal heroine. Growing up poor, he played soccer on unpaved, dusty, rocky, neighborhood patches of land. He used his talents in the sport to win athletic scholarships for his education. As he grew older, he played for many big soccer clubs in Liberia (Young Survivor, Bong Range, Mighty Barolle, and others). Weah stayed focused on his education while playing. He also worked part time with the Liberia Telecommunications Corporation as a switch board technician. His athletic talents moved him to Cameroon where he was spotted by Arsene Wenger, then team manager of a Monaco team. He lived in Milan from 1995 to 2000, where he won the World, European, and African Footballer of the Year awards. Weah was named world best for 1995, becoming the only African player to win the award. Weah was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. Nelson Mandela nicknamed him “African Pride” and he has earned an Eagle Award, a Nobel-style award for Black international achievers for his work as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador in 2004. In mid-November 2004, Weah ran in the October 2005 presidential election. He received a hero's welcome upon his arrival in Monrovia in late November and was widely considered a favorite in the election, and was was the candidate for the Congress for Democratic Change. 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 is a devoted humanitarian for his war-torn country. At the 2004 ESPY Awards, he won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award for his efforts. He has also been named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, a role which he has suspended while he pursues a political career. Liberia is emerging from more than 20 years of civil war. It is now run by an interim government under the watchful eye of 15,000 United Nations peace keepers. Reference: LACE, Liberians Aspiring communal Esteem 5701 Kentucky Avenue No., Crystal, MN 55428
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