George Weah is elected president of Liberia as former Chelsea and Manchester City star celebrates landslide victory
The former striker helped Chelsea win the FA Cup in 2000 and has added to his list of achievements with his election victory
Former AC Milan, Manchester City and Chelsea striker George Weah has been elected president of Liberia.
Weah - the first African to win the Ballon D'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year - won comprehensively, clinching 12 of the 15 counties in the West African country.
His opponent Joseph Boakai, who has been vice-president for the last 12 years, only had two counties vote for him.
Jubilant Weah took to Twitter to confirm the victory.
The former Chelsea man is not known for his political nous but his clout as a footballing icon garners him significant support amongst the youth of Liberia, where 60% of the population is under the age of 30.
Weah topped the first round of voting in October but didn't secure the 50% needed to win outright. The runoff was delayed twice after allegations of voting fraud and irregularities but Weah's popularity won out in the end.
He will take over from Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who beat Weah in an election back in 2005. Weah's lack of education was seen as the main reason for his loss.
The 51 year-old former striker was signed by Chelsea in 2000 on loan and had an immediate impact, scoring a header on his debut in a derby game against Tottenham
He scored five goals in 14 matches for the club, starting the 2000 FA Cup final against Aston Villa as they beat the Midlanders 1-0.
He also played under Arsene Wenger at Monaco, calling him a "father figure" and attributing his considerable success to the Frenchman.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/george-weah-elected-president-liberia-11757071.amp?__twitter_impression=true[ 此帖被羅力亞在2017-12-28 08:58重新編輯 ]
