LIBERIA: Thousands of Liberians march in support of presidential candidate George Weah

Record ID: 191257

  • Title: LIBERIA: Thousands of Liberians march in support of presidential candidate George Weah
  • Date: 9th October 2005
  • Summary: NEAR MONROVIA, LIBERIA (OCT 8, 2005) (REUTERS) WIDE OF A ROAD PACKED WITH PEOPLE, WEAH SOPPORTERS MORE OF CROWDS WITH POSTERS, PEOPLE SINGING AND CARRYING POSTERS VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS GEORGE WEAH WALKING WITH HIS WIFE AMONG THE CROWD CROWD CHEERING, WAVING POSTERS PEOPLE MARCHING TO CDC (CONGRESS FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE) HEADQUARTERS VARIOUS OF POSTERS AND BILLBOARDS SHOWING GEORGE WEAH MORE PEOPLE MARCHING TO THE HEADQUARTERS OF CDC
  • Embargoed: 24th October 2005 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Liberia
  • Country: Liberia
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA2MY315YQ77Q1W1F7PEGCEUHOD
  • Story Text: Tens of thousands of George Weah supporters brought Monrovia to a standstill on Saturday (October 8) as the millionaire soccer star launched his final campaign to become president in Liberia's first postwar elections.
    A sea of white T-shirts flooded roads on the edge of the capital as masses of the former AC Milan striker's fans marched from his home in a Monrovia suburb to his party headquarters.
    "George! George! He play football! He play football!," chanted a group of young men, running in formation through the crowd, Weah bandanas wrapped around their heads.
    The only African to have won World Footballer of the Year, Weah, 39, is wildly popular in a country trying to get back on its feet after one of Africa's most brutal conflicts partly because he is seen asuntainted by links with former warlords.
    The presidential and parliamentary polls on Tuesday are meant to draw a line under the 14-year civil war, which ended with a 2003 peace deal after a quarter of a million people had been killed.
    Despite a glittering career which took the Liberian striker to Monaco, Paris St Germain and AC Milan, Weah seemed somewhat bewildered by the scale of the hero worship.
    Weah had said he planned to "shut down" Monrovia with his final march.
    Normally bustling streets in the centre of town were quiet as tens of thousands made their way to the suburbs to join the rally.
    Weah's main challenger in the presidential race is considered to beveteran opposition politician Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a former World Bank economist whose final rally on Thursday drew around 20,000supporters.
    Sceptics say many of the fans who turn up at Weah's rallies are either too young to vote or just want to get a look at the national footballing hero. But spurred on by the size of the crowd, his supporters are in no doubt what the election outcome will be.
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