Former soccer great Weah pursues higher education as part of quest for Liberian presidency

George Weah gets educated in quest for election

MONROVIA, Liberia — George Weah was at one time the greatest soccer player in the world.

Now he’s planning a run at the presidency of his native Liberia for the second time.

Weah was FIFA’s Player of the Year in 1995, and went into politics in 2005. Although he beat 21 other candidates to win the vote in the first round, he lost to eventual president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the second round.

Many believe his lack of formal education was the reason for the defeat, and Weah appears determined not to let that undermine his chances in the 2011 election. He says he’s studying for a degree at DeVry University, an American for-profit school that Weah says he attended in Miami.

Weah says he’s an honest person who wants to see his country prosper.