George Weah Junior Finally Gets Chance To Emulate Famous Father
June 11, 2015
(Reuters) - The eldest son of Liberia's former World Footballer of the Year George Weah will get his first chance to emulate the international career of his father at the start of the 2017 African Nations Cup qualifiers this weekend.
The 27-year-old George Weah junior was on the books of two of his father’s old clubs but never made the grade.
However, he has been included in Liberia’s squad for Sunday’s qualifier in Togo, the country’s FA said on Tuesday.
He has made the cut for the final squad that has moved to Ghana to prepare for the Group A game in nearby Lome.
Weah junior was born in Liberia but grew up in the U.S, where he played for the national under-20 team in a handful of friendly matches.
He was in the junior teams at AC Milan, where his father made his name, from the age of 14 but was let go before he turned 20. He has since had a journeyman career in the lower leagues in Switzerland and briefly in Greece.
He last played professional football in two substitute appearances for Paris St Germain’s amateur team last year.
Liberia’s new coach, James Debbah, was also a PSG player and is a relative of Weah's.
Weah junior’s father, now 48, was World Footballer of the Year in 1995.
For many years, when Liberia was embroiled in civil strife, he funded the running of the national team and led them twice to the Nations Cup finals in 1996 and 2002.
He also coached the team before turning to politics, running unsuccessfully for president in Liberia but last year winning a Senate seat. Another of his son's, Timothy, is in the U.S. under-15 team and also in PSG’s youth programme.
Source: By Mark Gleeson- Reuters
