I am sharing chapters’ excerpts of the book titled, “George Weah, the Dream, the Legend, the Rise to Power” that captures and encapsulates the life of President George Weah from birth to his ascendency to the presidency of Liberia,” Professor Clarke, a Liberian who lives in the United States of America said.
The authors provided a sneak peek into the compelling Weah book which global launch will happen soon and the chapters excerpts are presented below.
Acknowledgement
For this book, there are several people and institutions that we would like to thank. Without their timeless efforts and support, it would not have been possible for us to complete this journey.
We would like to thank George Oppong Manneh Weah for the extraordinary and incredible life he has lived thus far. Without your exploits this book would not have been written. The truth is, you already wrote this book by the life you lived. All that we did was to compile it by piecing your life’s story together one chapter at a time. Thank you!
We would also like to thank a few of the Weah family, relatives, and friends who were generous with their time in sharing information with us about the life of George Weah.
We do not want to forget the following persons and institutions, William Weah Jr., D. Zeogar Wilson, Jerry Massaquoi, Franklin Duodo, Omari Jackson, G. Alvin Jones, Dru Wellington Banna, Wallace Octavius Obey, George Ggodeayee Solo, Aaron Davis, Momolu “Monk” Massaquoi, Rodney Scere,J. Emmanuel Z. Bowier, the Daily Observer Newspaper, Inquirer Newspaper, FIFA Magazine, and other print and electronic media in Liberia and worldwide for providing us with those pieces of information that helped complete this book.
The writing contained in this book is based on thorough research from various sources that include, local and international newspapers, FIFA Magazine, football magazines from around the world, hundreds of online media and video footages containing interviews with George Manneh Weah, various coaches, siblings and family members, teammates, friends, fans and supporters. Significant information also came from direct authors’ interviews with more than 30 close friends and family members of Mr. Weah.
Introduction
George Oppong Manneh Weah is not angry for being raised in the ghetto of Gibraltar, in Clara Town. Weah who is the greatest living African football player; having made a name for himself on football fields around the world and for the country he holds so dearly to his heart, has lived an extraordinary life. Having conquered the football world and scoring one of the biggest goals of his life by winning the presidency of the Republic of Liberia, George Weah’s life is fulfilled.
Chapter 1
Early Childhood and Family History
After being raped by Mr. Jimmy Pennoh, a medical practitioner in Gbe & Duru in Nimba County at age 13, and conceiving her first child at age 14, Hannah Monneh Quinwoh gave birth to George Weah in Ganta Nimba County following the birth of her second child, William Weah Jr. (Junior Boy). This birth would set William Tarpeh Weah Sr. and Hannah (Anna) on a collision course in their relationship and a life of pain and struggle for George Weah who had to live off the breast milk of other women in the Gibraltar neighborhood where he was taken to live with his grand aunty, Emma Klonjlaleh Brown.
Chapter 2
Teenage Years
As a preteen and a teenager, George
Weah never ran away from a fight with his older brother William Weah Jr. (Junior Boy) or anyone within his Gibraltar neighborhood. Now as adults, the two men still argue about little things, and do not agree on almost anything at all. George was disrespectful to many of the adults who crossed his path the wrong way. People in the neighbors secretly rejoiced the day George sustained a 3rd degree burn and was taken out of the community to seek medical treatment outside of the area—that joy soon disappeared upon his return six months later. Junior Boy was seen as the most likely person to be successful and not George Weah due to George’s hot temper and his unruly behaviors. “Why can’t you be like your brother, Junior Boy so you can be something tomorrow,” people often told him. These words pained George so much that he had to prove these critics wrong by working harder on his attitude and on his footballing skills.
Chapter 3
Liberia, the Sweet Land of Liberty
Liberia, “The Sweet Land of Liberty” being the first independent country in Africa in the early 1900s, has had many “Firsts” moments. George Oppong Manneh Weah is the first Liberian and the first and only African football player to have won the Ballon d’Or (Gold Ball) and five other prestigious football awards in a single year. Liberia was the only black founding member of both the League of Nations in 1920 and the United Nations in 1945. A Liberian woman, Angie Brooks, made history in 1970 as the first African female to be elected as president of the United Nations General Assembly. Liberia is the only country in the world to be nicknamed, “The Sweet Land of Liberty” due to black freedom and the large sugar production that once took place on the banks of the St. Paul River in the mid-1900s by the early settlers that founded the country. Liberia is the first country in Africa to have elected the first female president. Liberia is the first country in the world that has made the Guinness Book of World Record for the Most Fraudulent Presidential Election—while there were only 15,000 registered voters, President C.D.B. King received 234,000 votes in 1927. Liberia was the first country in Africa to have a coup in 1871. George Weah of Liberia is the only professional football player in the world to be elected president of a country.
Chapter 4
Raised by Grand Aunty, Growing Up Poor
From the apex of his success to his entry into Liberia’s politics, George Weah never forgot to turn his eyes toward the lower corners of the Liberian society where the downtrodden thrive in poverty and hopelessness—especially having once had a front row seat that allowed him to see and feel what it means to be poor. When he found success, he remained true to himself and to the words of wisdom from his paternal grandaunt, Emma Forkay Klonjlaleh Brown, who didn’t live to see and reap the best fruit of his labor. One profound thing that George Weah has never forgotten while still a teenager living in the slums of Clara Town was Ma Emma’s words to him—never forget where you come from, and always learn how to be able not to be a bad person even if people around you are not good.
Chapter 5
Early Education: A Rocky Start
Primary and secondary education were not easy journeys for George Weah. By age five, he could barely recite the letters of the alphabet and could not count from 1 to 50 without struggles. He
also struggled to develop the Ministry of Education’s famous “SO SO” phonics and other basic reading skills. Gibraltar in the days of George Weah was like many poor slum communities around the world where many of the poorest of the poor inhabit, is a one-way and one-ticket journey for many of those who dare to enter.
Chapter 6
Introduction to Football
Family members that saw him grow often say that George started playing football the moment he learned to walk as a child. For a very long time in Liberia, football was considered a game for abandoned and less fortunate street children who came from the poorest of the poor backgrounds in the capital and around the country. Growing up in his little enclave of Gibraltar, George had heard names of famous local and international football players like Augustus Mitchell and Benedict Wisseh (Mama Musa) of Invincible Eleven, Wani Boto, Josiah N. Johnson (JNJ), and Borbor Gaye of Mighty Barrolle, Pele of Brazil, Johan Cruyff of Holland, Papa Kamara from neighboring Guinea and names of many other great players from around the world and the African Continent. It is of no dispute the reason why George Oppong Manneh Weah is the greatest living African footballer ever. Mr. George, as he was referred to in France, embodied the techniques of four of the world’s greats.
Conclusion
18 Chapters book, so compelling and inspiring....A staple collection for not only sports scholars and fans, but the political class and influencers both in Africa and across the world.
