Kanu tips Weah for Liberian Presidency

Grace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
TWO-TIME African Player of the Year Nwankwo Kanu believes football will be the biggest winner should former star George Weah clinch the Liberian Presidency in next month’s run-off. Weah, the only African to win the Ballon d’Or award, is headed for a run-off with Liberian Vice-President Joseph Boakai following last Tuesday’s election in the West African country.

Weah is leading with 39 percent of the vote while Boakai has 29 percent. As if to emphasise the enthusiasm surrounding Weah’s audacious bid to swap the soccer boots for the country’s biggest office, Kanu and his former coach at Arsenal Arsene Wenger, last week wrongly sent a congratulatory messages to him following false reports he had won the election, replacing President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Wenger coached the Liberian at Monaco in the 1990s before he moved to Paris Saint-German where he won the French Ligue 1 title in 1994 during a colourful decade in which the powerful forward also had stints at Milan, Chelsea and Manchester City. But, speaking at Prince Edward on Sunday, Kanu said every football person would be happy if Weah eventually becomes the President of Liberia.

“All of us are behind him. We are going to be the happiest people if he becomes the President,” said Kanu.

The former Nigerian skipper said times have changed and former players don’t necessarily just have to confine themselves to a coaching career after retirement. Kanu is changing lives in his home country after he set up the Kanu Heart Foundation, which assists less privileged children in Nigeria and other African countries to undergo surgery for different heart ailments. He says for now he doesn’t see himself pursuing a career in coaching.

“He (Weah) would have opened the doors, most of us don’t have to be coaches (only), but have to do other things; the chairman of the federation, the Minister of Sports. “I wish he will become the President, we are happy and we congratulate him,” said Kanu.

The Ambassador of the Emirates FA Cup also challenged other African legends to plough back into the communities where they came from in terms of identifying and nurturing talent.

“I am very happy I am the one being called, when we go out they say the legends of Africa. We have to come out and help. “Big names have to come back to their roots, advising, coaching the young players. If you are helping out, then you are a true legend,” said Kanu.