Weah Holds Meeting With CAF Prez

A high-powered delegation from the Confederation of African Football led by President Ahmad Ahmad has held meetings with Liberia’s President, George Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah, after his investiture at Monrovia last Monday.

The CAF delegation that included Kwesi Nyantakyi – 1st Vice-President, Constant Omari – 2nd Vice-President, Kalusha Bwalya and Amaju Pinnick, both Executive Committee members spent time with former AC Milan superstar to deliberate on the promotion of football in Liberia.

FIFA General Secretary, Fatma Samoura, who was in attendance together with other stakeholders from the neighbouring West African countries, encouraged the former World Best player on his assumption of office and wished him well.

Other high profile players who graced the occasion included three-time African Footballer of the Year, Samuel Eto, Ivory Coast and Chelsea legend, Didier Drogba, and Nigeria duo of Sunday Oliseh and Taribo West.

The former football star defeated Vice-President Joseph Boakai to win the election with 61.5% of the vote.

The ceremony took place at a packed sports stadium near the capital, Monrovia, with several African heads of state in attendance, along with friends and former colleagues from his football years.

Crowds queued for miles to reach the stadium, singing, dancing and waving the Liberian flag as they waited. Mr Weah has vowed to make prosperity and job creation the hallmarks of his presidency.

He grew up in Monrovia and went on to star for AC Milan, Paris St Germain and Chelsea, and became the only African to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award.

Liberia, Africa’s oldest modern republic, is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking a mere 177th on the 188 countries in the Human Development Index compiled by the UN Development Programme.

Its last democratic transfer of power occurred in 1944 and was followed by a military coup in 1980 and a 14-year civil war that ended only in 2003.

Source: Today Newspaper