Can George Weah help African football fullfil it’s potential?

George Weah was a truly great player. Back in 1995 he was voted both the African player of the year and the world player of the year.

Last weekend the forty-two year old Liberian played in a match in Lagos featuring several retired African football greats to promote the 2010 World Cup. Together with other players such as Ghana’s Abedi Pele, Weah is an official ambassador for that tournament.

Former players

Now, Weah is saying that former players such as himself should be taking a bigger role in the administration of the overall game in Africa. He can look at Michel Platini at the head of the European game and believes similar things should be happening in Africa.

He told the BBC,

“In Europe, people who played the game govern the game. But in Africa, people who don’t know anything or have passion for the game govern the game, so it kills the game in Africa.”

Following the game in Lagos Weah said,

“We have to come together and show the world that we were good on the pitch and we can be great off the pitch as well. Football being run as a comical circus needs to change – when we decide to do that, then we will restore respect to football and it will take a different trend in Africa. But if we don’t fight for football’s soul now, it’s going to stay the same way and we’ll watch the game lose its relevance and power. The people who have been on the pitch and played it like their lives depended on it should come on board because they know what the sport means to Africans. Together we should start taking responsibility to revive the game here, because football means life, freedom and power to the people of Africa.”

Since retiring from the game, Weah has pursued a political career in Liberia and stood, unsuccessfully, for the Presidency back in 2005. He has remained high profile and is a determined humanitarian in his country. He has won awards for the work he has done and was named as a goodwill ambassador by Unicef, although he has suspended work in that role whilst he is active politically.

Football

I do not pretend to have any idea about Liberian politics and wouldn’t begin to have an opinion about what is right and what is wrong for that country or indeed the entire continent of Africa, but I do know about football.

Although Michel Platini has many critics, myself included at times, it is undeniably right that a man who graced the game with his exceptional ability across Europe is now in a position of power in the game in that continent. It would seem to be eminently sensible for a man like George Weah to take the African game forward in a similar manner.

Potential

I have written recently about the potential for football in Africa and the fact that it can only be a matter of time before one of the countries from there makes a sustained attempt to join the big boys of Europe and South America. In order for that to become even more likely the game needs to be run by football people for football people.

Maybe George Weah could go some way towards making these African dreams a reality.

Is George Weah the man to take African football forward?