Monrovia, Liberia – On January 22, 2018, a cheering crowd welcomed George Weah to the Samuel K Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville, outside Liberia’s capital, Monrovia. But the man once crowned the world’s best footballer was not there to add to his 75 matches for the Lone Stars, Liberia’s senior national football team.
It was his inauguration as the West African nation’s 25th president. Those present, like many Liberians glued to television sets at home and in the diaspora were brimming with hope at the expected transformation that his presidency would bring, just as his football career had given them joy and pride.
