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Footballer favourite to win Liberian poll

Jeevan Vasagar— © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

George Weah dribbles a football during a soccer match in Milan, in this file picture. — PHOTO: AP

GANTA (LIBERIA): George Weah has been on the campaign trail for weeks, and the retired footballer who would be President of war-ravaged Liberia, looks exhausted.

The convoy of four-wheel-drive cars tells the story of the journey. After setting out from the capital Monrovia with 32 vehicles last week, his campaign team bumped back towards the city on Friday in just five mud-spattered cars.

At a rest stop in the town of Ganta, Mr Weah clambered down from his car and walked wearily to a wooden bench in the shade. ``I'm very optimistic,'' he said. ``I want to bring the basic necessities. Light, water and education. And I can see there's a need for roads.''

With a small population — 3.3 million — and an abundance of resources, Liberia ought to be an African gem. But decades of bad government and a protracted civil war have left it one of the poorest countries in the world.

After sunset, the heart of Liberia's capital is shrouded in darkness. In the dazzle of car headlights, prostitutes dance on street corners to lure customers and U.N. armoured cars gleam ghostly white.

The man who promises to bring light to this darkness, Mr Weah (39), is a former world footballer of the year who grew up in a hut on reclaimed swampland in Monrovia. He is favourite to win Tuesday's presidential vote.

``Liberians are ready to move the country forward,'' Mr Weah told the Guardian, flanked by security men in camouflage gear. ``We need stability, to reassure the world that we are ready to move forward. My career does not make much difference. I'm a human being that has contributed to my society.''

The super-rich sports star had witnessed extreme poverty on his journey through Liberia's rainforest-clad interior. He had seen first hand the dirt roads where treacherous orange mud sucks at car tyres. On Thursday night, he slept in his car because the convoy had been unable to reach the nearest town.

``We live in Monrovia and think everything is OK, but our people in the hinterland are catching a hard time. I experienced that myself in the 1970s. Our people are still living in huts, in a country that has the resources. At least, we can get low-cost housing for our people.''

Football was the springboard out of poverty for Mr Weah, who was brought up by his grandmother. He started with local teams like Young Survivor and Invincible XI, then moved to Cameroon where the national squad's coach recommended him to Arsene Wenger, then coach of Monaco. Mr Weah became a star, playing for a string of Europe's most prestigious clubs, including AC Milan and Chelsea.

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