WEBVTT

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It\'s World Cup time in Africa.

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Now, some say
soccer and politics never mix.

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But what happens
when they do?

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We\'ve two films
about African football stars

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on the edge of power.

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In this Life on the Edge,

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the soccer star
as political player.

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[dramatic music]

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♪ ♪

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- Go!

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Come on! Come on!

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Go!

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Bradshaw:
You can see it across Africa:

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young men trying to become
football stars

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but often playing the game
just for the love of it.

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But behind
these everyday scenes

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are extraordinary stories
of lives on the edge

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and none more so than the story
of this team\'s coach.

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Today George
has been helping train

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a team of young people
and veterans in Ghana.

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Next week, he might be back home
in nearby Liberia

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or in Florida, USA,
where he\'s studying

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business administration
and criminal justice,

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the kind of education
which, like many of these kids,

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he\'s never had.

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Few footballers have lived
in a more globalized world

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than George Weah,
African world football star.

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- Well, coming from the ghetto,
you know,

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I\'ve endured
the pain of suffering,

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and that gave me
the sense of, you know,

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being there for people,

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because I know
that it\'s not good

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for people to suffer,
you know.

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But I came
from that environment,

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and I think it\'s not a pleasant
environment for people to be.

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So I always want to strive
to help, you know,

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to be there for people,
you know.

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So we were 15 in a home

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that we all grew up
to love each other,

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and that taught me
the sense of loving

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and the sense of caring,
you know.

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That is important to me,

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and that, I can use that,
you know.

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And I use that in my career
when I was playing-

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you know, loving people,
you know,

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making people happy
and all my friends around me,

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you know, and that\'s
how I can help them.

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Bradshaw:
George was brought up

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in the Claratown district
of Monrovia,

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the capital of Liberia.

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It\'s a country struggling
with the legacy of civil war

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and with grinding poverty.

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With average income
still under $200 a year,

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Liberia\'s not yet on track

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to meet the millennium
development goals,

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and most voters
are still illiterate.

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George\'s uncle
showed us the house

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where George was raised
by his grandmother

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with over a dozen
siblings and relatives.

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- George lived here.

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- George lived here

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when he was playing
for Invincible Eleven.

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This is the room
George used to be in.

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George used to play
yard football at the time,

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playing football in the yard.

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George would go to school.

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He would go to school,
but, hmm,

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he liked soccer
more than school.

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Once, our grandmother
had a dream about him.

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She knew that one day,

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he was going to be
a great star.

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- When was the last time
you saw him?

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- We saw him last in 2005.

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Bradshaw: The young woman
who lives in George\'s room now

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has her own heroes.

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But in the living room,

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there are still memories
of a Liberian star.

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His love for the ball
helped George Weah

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outgrow
his childhood environment.

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The boy from the Monrovia slums
grew to be

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World Footballer of the Year,

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playing for clubs
like Chelsea and AC Milan.

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Nowadays
George\'s home in Liberia

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is a little more uptown.

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In the early \'70s,

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football coach Pampeen
discovered the young George,

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remembered now
as a little lazy

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but already a great dribbler
on the ball.

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Pampeen\'s still welcome
in George\'s new home

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and showed us round
while George was away in Ghana.

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- This is Milan

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when Milan beat Juventus
and so won the championship.

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This the time
Milan beat Juventus 2-1

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and made Milan champion.

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George Best gave him this

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because he was the only man

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who wore the number 9 shirt
in Europe.

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He can\'t forget me.

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George can\'t do that.

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If George is playing in Europe
and wants to call anybody here,

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he asks for me.

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He\'s going to ask for me.

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If he wants me,
I\'m going to be there.

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Any day he wants me,
I\'ll be there

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so he doesn\'t forget.

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Bradshaw: Pampeen met George
at the age of six.

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Little did he know
that 23 years later,

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his pupil would be elected

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European, African, and World
Player of the Year 1995.

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- George grew up
like everyone else here.

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He used to play around
with friends.

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We played marbles.

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You know marbles?
- Uh-huh.

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- I want to show you
the football

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we used to play with.

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It was made of paper
and plastic bags then

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because we didn\'t have
a football,

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and this is what George
and other friends

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used to play with.

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- He was a poor guy.

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- He was a poor boy, yeah.

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He was a poor boy
growing up,

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but he loved football
so much.

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He didn\'t know
he was going to be somebody,

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but I knew
he was going to become a star,

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because the way
he played with us,

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he was too good,

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and I knew he was going to be
somebody else far off.

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But when he was with us,
he loved football.

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It\'s a basketball.

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Bradshaw: Today the ball\'s
a bit heavy for Pampeen,

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but, then, he\'s only been able
to find a basketball.

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- A basketball,
not a football.

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- He\'s down to earth.

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- He\'s not like the other people

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who forget you
when they get famous.

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- When they go up,
then they forget you, you know.

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George...

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- George,
whether he\'s famous or not,

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he will help you out.

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Yeah, I love that man.

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[crowd cheering]

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Bradshaw: Even while he played
for the national team,

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George was having
political disagreements

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with some of his colleagues.

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He was a team player
who could still go his own way.

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- We were together on the team,

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and we took the team
to another level

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where we actually have
that series of differences

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based on my own principles

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and his, you know,
way of thinking.

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But beyond that, we got along,
you know, socially.

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But when it came
to principle-based issues,

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we had some differences.

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And along those lines,
we disagree to agree

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without being disagreeable.

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Bradshaw: In 2005, George Weah
ran for president of Liberia

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in the first election
since the end of the civil war.

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With supporters,
he\'d formed his own party,

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the CDC,
Congress for Democratic Change.

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- Vote for a president
who can be trusted

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by the national community.

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Vote for George Manneh Weah

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for the presidency
of Liberia!

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Bradshaw:
His only real qualification:

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he was a national hero
who could unite the country.

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He won the first round

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but narrowly lost out
to the current president,

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the economist
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

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George Weah says he\'ll be happy
to run against her again.

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- My vision is, you know,

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to have a secure
and a stable society

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and a united society,
you know,

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to develop my country,
you know, develop my people,

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to put in
the basic necessities

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that they need,
you know, to grow.

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This is my plan.

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- Okay, and how do you want
to execute it?

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- How I\'m gonna execute that?

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Well, the job
is not given to me yet,

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but that\'s why we\'re recruiting
professional people.

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We\'re talking to people
every day

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just in case
the opportunity comes,

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and then we can start
our work.

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Okay, now, move around.
Move around!

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Move around!

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Stop!

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Stop! Stop!

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- The founder of our party,
Mr. Weah,

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came into politics because
he felt very disappointed

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by the way the country is.

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The poverty
is still on the rise,

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and there\'s nobody caring.

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So that\'s how the CDC
came about to be formed.

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We are not
traditional politicians.

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We are Liberians who are
convinced that we can help.

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Bradshaw: But not every
former footballing colleague

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of Liberia\'s great star

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believes he\'s the right guy
for the job.

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Some now support
President Johnson Sirleaf,

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and one, at least,
reckons football

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is scant preparation
for the presidency.

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- Mr. George Weah,
my friend and brother,

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has only been concerned
with the playing of football.

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He has achieved the zenith,
the \"epiphany\" of football.

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Today he\'s one
of the world best.

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But when it comes
to administration,

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vis-à-vis politics,

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I don\'t think
this is his niche.

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I don\'t think that\'s his area.

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And this is what Ellen
has gained.

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It\'s like asking
the president of Liberia today

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to be the coach of Barcelona.

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- That career is gone,
you know?

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I will always be remembered

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because of my contribution
in the soccer society.

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But if I didn\'t do well
in soccer,

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I\'m sure people
would overlook that.

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If I had gone to-

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Let\'s say I went to Europe
to play

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and one year, I left
and joined into politics.

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Nobody is gonna say anything,
you know?

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But because I did my good,
some people remember that.

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But again, you admit
that you\'re telling me

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why Nelson Mandela
became a boxer, a sportsman,

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and then he went into law
and become a politician.

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That\'s what you\'re telling me.

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Is that wrong?
No.

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Then we would be questioning,
what,

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President Reagan, you know,
being a movie actor

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and then become president.

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Then we\'re gonna tell
Arnold Schwarzenegger

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that he was a movie actor;
then he become a mayor.

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[upbeat instrumental music]

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♪ ♪

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Bradshaw: George Weah\'s new game
may be politics,

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but he\'s still in touch
with his football roots.

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For better or worse,
it\'s the basis of his appeal,

00:11:42.217 --> 00:11:44.250
especially with young men.

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Today he\'s been playing in Ghana
for fun and exercise

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with veterans and youngsters.

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Wherever his travels take him,
he\'s most at home

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in these West African ghettos,

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just like his home
back in Liberia.

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And football offers some
interesting tactical lessons.

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- You know, it doesn\'t matter
whether we\'re losing or not.

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You know, what I wanted to do
is to balance our game,

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and then we work
on their weaknesses.

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The weakness was at the end,
you know,

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and then we used that
against them,

00:12:13.209 --> 00:12:14.626
and we beat them.

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Bradshaw:
That may be a useful tactic

00:12:16.709 --> 00:12:18.792
when it comes to winning votes.

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Politics is not
why he is here today,

00:12:21.626 --> 00:12:24.209
but it\'s never
far from his mind.

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Even having fun in Ghana,

00:12:25.918 --> 00:12:27.999
George Weah
is keen to present himself

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as Liberia\'s
man of the people.

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- I mean, we come here
to socialize, you know.

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This is our social club.

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You know,
this is our ghetto.

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You know,
this is where we grew up.

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So yeah, you know,
see our young friends,

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you know, that we left
in the ghetto,

00:12:42.459 --> 00:12:45.751
also to keep the blood
flowing, you know?

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Because if you don\'t know
where you come from,

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you don\'t know
where you\'re going, you know?

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These are street kids,
you know.

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It doesn\'t matter we are
successful in or own life.

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But at the end of the day,

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you know, the people
that we know in the ghetto,

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we must socialize with them,

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because that\'s
the only connection, you know?

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But mostly they believe in me.

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I\'m still on board.

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And going to convention
will determine

00:13:18.999 --> 00:13:20.751
whether I go again.

00:13:20.792 --> 00:13:22.999
But up to now,
my people still believe

00:13:22.999 --> 00:13:24.751
that I am the president
they want, you know,

00:13:24.792 --> 00:13:27.999
and they want to take me back
to the democratic elections.

00:13:27.999 --> 00:13:30.292
Bradshaw:
But back in Liberia,

00:13:30.334 --> 00:13:34.042
there\'s another side
to this story of the ghetto

00:13:34.083 --> 00:13:36.834
and of Liberia\'s young men.

00:13:36.876 --> 00:13:38.709
It was while George
was playing in Europe

00:13:38.751 --> 00:13:40.959
that civil war
ravaged the country,

00:13:40.999 --> 00:13:44.125
killing
over 1/4 million Liberians.

00:13:44.167 --> 00:13:47.501
There was no shelter
from the storm.

00:13:47.542 --> 00:13:50.918
[gunshots]

00:13:50.959 --> 00:13:54.459
Warring factions recruited boys
and sometimes girls

00:13:54.501 --> 00:13:56.167
as child soldiers,

00:13:56.209 --> 00:13:57.999
keeping them high on drugs,

00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:00.125
arming them
with modern weapons,

00:14:00.167 --> 00:14:04.792
and encouraging the most extreme
kinds of disorder and violence.

00:14:15.626 --> 00:14:16.834
- You were at the front line?

00:14:16.876 --> 00:14:18.918
- Yes, I was on the front line.

00:14:18.959 --> 00:14:20.167
- Did you carry a gun?

00:14:20.209 --> 00:14:21.792
- Yes, I carried a gun.

00:14:21.834 --> 00:14:22.959
- Did you kill?

00:14:22.999 --> 00:14:24.709
- Yes, I killed my enemy.

00:14:24.751 --> 00:14:28.334
- I was just protecting
my family and myself

00:14:28.375 --> 00:14:32.125
because my very self,
I was fighting the war too.

00:14:32.167 --> 00:14:34.125
But I did not suffer any harm.

00:14:34.167 --> 00:14:35.709
- I was a little boy

00:14:35.751 --> 00:14:38.584
when I started to carry arms
on my head.

00:14:38.626 --> 00:14:39.959
I killed.

00:14:39.999 --> 00:14:42.834
- The soldiers I killed
were plenty,

00:14:42.876 --> 00:14:44.751
yeah, plenty.

00:14:44.792 --> 00:14:47.125
- During this war,
my people died.

00:14:47.167 --> 00:14:49.792
My father and mother died
during the war.

00:14:49.834 --> 00:14:52.209
- The people gave us
hard drugs,

00:14:52.250 --> 00:14:53.918
and when we took it,

00:14:53.959 --> 00:14:56.334
we felt brave
to go to the front.

00:14:56.375 --> 00:14:59.501
Sometimes I took it
and I\'d feel nothing.

00:14:59.542 --> 00:15:02.501
My only feeling
was to kill or be killed.

00:15:02.542 --> 00:15:06.042
- The worst thing I did
was on Broad Street.

00:15:06.083 --> 00:15:08.667
I shot one boy in the leg,

00:15:08.709 --> 00:15:12.375
and when I looked at him,
I felt bad.

00:15:12.417 --> 00:15:13.542
Yeah.

00:15:13.584 --> 00:15:16.125
And he died right on the spot.

00:15:16.167 --> 00:15:18.292
- My commander said,
\"This man is your enemy.\"

00:15:18.334 --> 00:15:19.709
And then we would catch you

00:15:19.751 --> 00:15:22.125
and tie you and carry you,
you know?

00:15:22.167 --> 00:15:24.459
And he would order
to kill this man,

00:15:24.501 --> 00:15:26.417
which is an individual.

00:15:26.459 --> 00:15:27.918
And I killed him.

00:15:27.959 --> 00:15:29.125
- It was so sad, you know?

00:15:29.167 --> 00:15:30.999
I couldn\'t even comprehend that:

00:15:30.999 --> 00:15:32.999
why Liberians
would be killing each other.

00:15:32.999 --> 00:15:35.626
And every day was the same story
on television.

00:15:35.667 --> 00:15:37.959
And CNN was not even
making it better for us.

00:15:37.999 --> 00:15:39.083
Unimaginable, you know.

00:15:39.125 --> 00:15:41.999
It was hard to accept,
you know, hard to accept.

00:15:41.999 --> 00:15:44.250
And I know each and every
Liberian felt so bad

00:15:44.292 --> 00:15:46.999
because we we had
a beautiful country before,

00:15:46.999 --> 00:15:49.042
the country that everybody
was going to,

00:15:49.083 --> 00:15:51.876
a free country, you know,
very peaceful.

00:15:51.918 --> 00:15:55.125
And to see it in chaos,
you know, it was sad.

00:15:55.167 --> 00:15:56.334
You know, it was sad.

00:15:56.375 --> 00:15:57.834
I don\'t know
how to explain that.

00:15:57.876 --> 00:16:00.999
But I think some part of our
heart was broken, you know?

00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:03.999
Bradshaw: George\'s rival,
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,

00:16:03.999 --> 00:16:05.792
a politician of long standing,

00:16:05.834 --> 00:16:08.000
took over
a country in chaos,

00:16:08.042 --> 00:16:11.999
former combatants
her priority too.

00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:13.125
- Finding the jobs

00:16:13.167 --> 00:16:16.918
for our thousands and thousands
of young people

00:16:16.959 --> 00:16:22.999
who were either victims
of the war or ex-combatants

00:16:22.999 --> 00:16:24.751
and giving them skills

00:16:24.792 --> 00:16:28.167
to enable them
to become viable citizens,

00:16:28.209 --> 00:16:31.999
that\'s our biggest challenge,
because they\'re unemployed,

00:16:31.999 --> 00:16:34.626
and that means
that they\'re very vulnerable

00:16:34.667 --> 00:16:36.999
to being recruited
for other things.

00:16:36.999 --> 00:16:39.125
Bradshaw: In selling himself
to young people,

00:16:39.167 --> 00:16:41.417
football is a huge plus
for George Weah

00:16:41.459 --> 00:16:43.250
in more ways than one.

00:16:43.292 --> 00:16:45.459
He was playing in Europe
during the civil war,

00:16:45.501 --> 00:16:47.709
so he can boast
of keeping clear

00:16:47.751 --> 00:16:50.834
of warlords
and the old politics.

00:16:50.876 --> 00:16:52.501
When George
and the national team

00:16:52.542 --> 00:16:53.751
took to the pitch,

00:16:53.792 --> 00:16:57.000
it\'s said the guns on all sides
stopped firing.

00:16:57.042 --> 00:16:58.417
- During the war,

00:16:58.459 --> 00:17:00.626
he never took part
in any rebel activity.

00:17:00.667 --> 00:17:02.042
He\'s not a warlord.

00:17:02.083 --> 00:17:05.167
That\'s why I love him.

00:17:05.209 --> 00:17:08.834
- No one but Weah will work.

00:17:08.876 --> 00:17:10.959
He\'s the only one
we believe in,

00:17:10.999 --> 00:17:13.417
and we know
he can make a difference.

00:17:13.459 --> 00:17:17.250
- I\'d be happy for George Weah
to become president of Liberia,

00:17:17.292 --> 00:17:20.999
because during the disarmament,
he came to us.

00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:22.542
He talked to us.

00:17:22.584 --> 00:17:25.709
And because of him,
we disarmed willingly.

00:17:25.751 --> 00:17:27.999
[crowd cheering]

00:17:27.999 --> 00:17:30.834
Bradshaw: These boys
stuck together after the war.

00:17:30.876 --> 00:17:33.375
Normally they roam the streets
of Monrovia,

00:17:33.417 --> 00:17:35.417
but today they\'ve found
some distraction,

00:17:35.459 --> 00:17:37.626
watching a local
football tournament.

00:17:40.626 --> 00:17:42.999
To find out
why they worship George Weah

00:17:42.999 --> 00:17:44.959
as more than a footballer,

00:17:44.999 --> 00:17:46.792
we asked two of them,
Mohammed and Tommy,

00:17:46.834 --> 00:17:47.918
to take us home.

00:17:52.417 --> 00:17:55.209
Mohammed was seven
when he was a child soldier.

00:17:55.250 --> 00:17:56.876
He\'s now 15.

00:17:56.918 --> 00:17:58.209
Although he still has a mother,

00:17:58.250 --> 00:18:01.999
he lives out on the streets
with his friends.

00:18:01.999 --> 00:18:03.459
- Mohammed.
- Yeah.

00:18:03.501 --> 00:18:05.999
- When was the last time
you saw your mom?

00:18:05.999 --> 00:18:08.417
- Last time I saw my mom?

00:18:08.459 --> 00:18:10.584
- Last time I saw
my mom?

00:18:10.626 --> 00:18:11.667
Three months ago.

00:18:11.709 --> 00:18:14.375
- Three months ago?
- Yeah.

00:18:14.417 --> 00:18:16.709
- Why don\'t you go to her?

00:18:16.751 --> 00:18:18.209
[horn honks]

00:18:22.209 --> 00:18:24.501
Can you tell me?

00:18:28.125 --> 00:18:31.125
You\'re afraid
what she will be like.

00:18:31.167 --> 00:18:33.959
But if we go together,
it\'s okay?

00:18:33.999 --> 00:18:35.959
Yeah.

00:18:39.999 --> 00:18:42.292
Bradshaw: The reunion
of Mohammed with his mother

00:18:42.334 --> 00:18:44.999
is not
of the heartwarming kind.

00:18:44.999 --> 00:18:49.459
[both speaking indistinctly]

00:18:49.501 --> 00:18:52.999
Mohammed\'s mother has had
a leg injury for years.

00:18:52.999 --> 00:18:56.751
It makes it hard for her
to earn a living.

00:18:56.792 --> 00:18:58.999
Mohammed\'s
slum-dwelling behavior

00:18:58.999 --> 00:19:01.209
doesn\'t make things easier
for her,

00:19:01.250 --> 00:19:05.999
and she doesn\'t have the means
to send him to school.

00:19:16.334 --> 00:19:18.918
- Would you like
to go back to school?

00:19:18.959 --> 00:19:21.584
- Yes, I want that.

00:19:21.626 --> 00:19:24.209
- Then I wouldn\'t have
any troubles anymore.

00:19:24.250 --> 00:19:26.876
Then I could earn some money
and get some rest,

00:19:26.918 --> 00:19:28.999
because here
you will never change.

00:19:28.999 --> 00:19:31.167
Come on, boy, say something!

00:19:31.209 --> 00:19:34.501
I have nowhere to sleep.

00:19:34.542 --> 00:19:38.167
My only dream now
is for Mohammed to go to school.

00:19:38.209 --> 00:19:39.959
What can I do?

00:19:39.999 --> 00:19:43.959
I\'m forced to go on the road
and to sell things.

00:19:43.999 --> 00:19:46.250
There\'s no help for me.

00:19:51.584 --> 00:19:53.626
- All I want to tell my mother

00:19:53.667 --> 00:19:56.999
is that I want
to go to school.

00:19:58.000 --> 00:19:59.167
- Yeah, water.

00:19:59.209 --> 00:20:01.876
This is the well water
we drink.

00:20:01.918 --> 00:20:03.999
All come from here.

00:20:06.083 --> 00:20:09.709
Bradshaw: Former child soldier
Tommy Smith is now 20.

00:20:09.751 --> 00:20:10.999
He took us to his home

00:20:10.999 --> 00:20:13.667
in the streets
of the center of Monrovia.

00:20:13.709 --> 00:20:14.751
- We sleep here.

00:20:14.792 --> 00:20:18.999
- We sleep here.

00:20:18.999 --> 00:20:20.125
I sleep here.

00:20:20.167 --> 00:20:23.292
I sleep on the ground,
on the street.

00:20:23.334 --> 00:20:24.667
We haven\'t got a house.

00:20:24.709 --> 00:20:26.999
We haven\'t got any money.

00:20:26.999 --> 00:20:28.999
Let me show you
the toilet area.

00:20:33.209 --> 00:20:36.999
Bradshaw: In the next
presidential election, in 2011,

00:20:36.999 --> 00:20:40.792
the plight of these young men
will be a big issue,

00:20:40.834 --> 00:20:43.999
and George Weah
wants their support.

00:20:43.999 --> 00:20:46.584
- The issue in 2011-

00:20:46.626 --> 00:20:47.959
one of the issues

00:20:47.999 --> 00:20:52.709
will be addressing
the plight of the young people.

00:20:52.751 --> 00:20:55.999
And I think the political party
that will have a set program,

00:20:55.999 --> 00:20:58.584
a set way
of dealing with that issue,

00:20:58.626 --> 00:21:00.667
will end up
winning the elections.

00:21:00.709 --> 00:21:01.999
They can play a key role,

00:21:01.999 --> 00:21:04.667
because in terms
of voting in Liberia,

00:21:04.709 --> 00:21:06.999
we don\'t look
at whether this guy is drugged

00:21:06.999 --> 00:21:09.334
or this guy is an ex-con

00:21:09.375 --> 00:21:12.000
or this guy
was involved in this.

00:21:12.042 --> 00:21:15.501
Once you have your voting card,
you can vote,

00:21:15.542 --> 00:21:17.999
and these are people
who are registered voters.

00:21:17.999 --> 00:21:19.999
We saw it in 2005.

00:21:19.999 --> 00:21:22.375
We saw it during
the by-elections in Montserrado.

00:21:22.417 --> 00:21:24.584
So these are not people
you can just write off.

00:21:24.626 --> 00:21:26.375
[people singing
in native language]

00:21:26.417 --> 00:21:29.501
Bradshaw: It\'s not only George
the presidential candidate

00:21:29.542 --> 00:21:31.250
who\'s been concerned
with the fate

00:21:31.292 --> 00:21:33.792
of Liberia\'s
younger generation.

00:21:33.834 --> 00:21:38.083
In the aftermath of the war,
he joined forces with the UN

00:21:38.125 --> 00:21:39.999
to disarm child soldiers.

00:21:39.999 --> 00:21:41.334
- I played my part.

00:21:41.375 --> 00:21:42.999
You know,
Liberia is my country,

00:21:42.999 --> 00:21:46.999
and I want to see Liberia
stable and united, you know.

00:21:46.999 --> 00:21:48.999
And I was called
to help disarm

00:21:48.999 --> 00:21:51.417
because the Unite Nations felt

00:21:51.459 --> 00:21:53.417
that the young kids
look up to me.

00:21:53.459 --> 00:21:55.334
You know,
I was a living example

00:21:55.375 --> 00:21:57.083
that we shouldn\'t
be using guns,

00:21:57.125 --> 00:21:59.083
you know,
instead going back to school

00:21:59.125 --> 00:22:01.959
and being meaningful people
in life, you know.

00:22:01.999 --> 00:22:03.792
And I had to serve my country,

00:22:03.834 --> 00:22:06.000
so I came back,
and I spoke to them.

00:22:06.042 --> 00:22:08.792
And what I did,
it was just simple, you know:

00:22:08.834 --> 00:22:10.959
care for them, you know,
invite them into my home,

00:22:10.999 --> 00:22:12.334
and we discussed

00:22:12.375 --> 00:22:13.751
and let them know

00:22:13.792 --> 00:22:15.999
that it\'s time for peace
and stability in our country

00:22:15.999 --> 00:22:17.999
and that it\'s time
for reconciliation

00:22:17.999 --> 00:22:20.876
and I don\'t think that arms
will be good for them.

00:22:20.918 --> 00:22:23.834
Instead they should take up
pencil or pen to do that.

00:22:23.876 --> 00:22:27.083
You know,
so that was my message to them.

00:22:27.125 --> 00:22:32.375
[children singing
in native language]

00:22:32.417 --> 00:22:35.999
Bradshaw: This school was funded
by the George Weah Foundation.

00:22:35.999 --> 00:22:38.792
It\'s in Claratown,
where he grew up.

00:22:38.834 --> 00:22:40.999
The teachers are volunteers.

00:22:40.999 --> 00:22:43.999
With projects like this,
George Weah wants to be seen

00:22:43.999 --> 00:22:47.167
not just as the champion
of child soldiers

00:22:47.209 --> 00:22:49.542
but of ghetto youth generally.

00:22:49.584 --> 00:22:51.292
- Suppose you will become
president.

00:22:51.334 --> 00:22:52.999
Can you change their fate?

00:22:52.999 --> 00:22:54.751
They all want to go to school.

00:22:54.792 --> 00:22:56.999
- Definitely I will change
their fate, you know,

00:22:56.999 --> 00:22:58.751
and I have done it already,

00:22:58.792 --> 00:23:01.751
and I use my own funds
by educating young people.

00:23:01.792 --> 00:23:06.167
I think one of my primary goals

00:23:06.209 --> 00:23:08.125
is to make sure
that we educate young people,

00:23:08.167 --> 00:23:10.000
make them
into a meaningful citizen.

00:23:10.042 --> 00:23:12.542
You know,
and I was one of them before,

00:23:12.584 --> 00:23:15.999
and I think that I can take them
from that situation

00:23:15.999 --> 00:23:17.501
for them to be better people,

00:23:17.542 --> 00:23:18.999
because each and every
Liberian

00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:22.751
should take part
to rebuild our country.

00:23:22.792 --> 00:23:23.999
Bradshaw:
But rebuilding

00:23:23.999 --> 00:23:25.999
this impoverished
and insecure country

00:23:25.999 --> 00:23:27.918
is no easy task.

00:23:27.959 --> 00:23:30.918
GDP is still lower
than before the civil war,

00:23:30.959 --> 00:23:33.834
and President Johnson Sirleaf
is seen by many

00:23:33.876 --> 00:23:36.417
to be losing her fight
against corruption.

00:23:36.459 --> 00:23:39.626
That\'s left a big opening
for George Weah\'s party,

00:23:39.667 --> 00:23:41.999
the Congress
for Democratic Change.

00:23:41.999 --> 00:23:44.667
- Successive governments
over the period

00:23:44.709 --> 00:23:47.834
have not addressed
the issue of poverty.

00:23:47.876 --> 00:23:50.042
And even now,
it\'s not happening

00:23:50.083 --> 00:23:52.876
because of the high level
of corruption.

00:23:52.918 --> 00:23:56.709
And once you have corruption,
it undermines development.

00:23:56.751 --> 00:23:59.999
So our manifesto,
our platform,

00:23:59.999 --> 00:24:03.999
is to form a government
of qualified people

00:24:03.999 --> 00:24:06.292
who are committed
to the country.

00:24:06.334 --> 00:24:09.125
The lack of commitment
and lack of love for Liberia

00:24:09.167 --> 00:24:10.959
is what\'s causing
the corruption,

00:24:10.999 --> 00:24:12.167
because if you love
your country,

00:24:12.209 --> 00:24:14.334
you wouldn\'t steal
from the people.

00:24:14.375 --> 00:24:15.999
- I\'ll ask a question
of conscience.

00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:17.918
What is your weakest point?

00:24:17.959 --> 00:24:19.626
- My weakest point?

00:24:19.667 --> 00:24:22.167
What-what is my weakest point?

00:24:22.209 --> 00:24:24.999
You know...

00:24:24.999 --> 00:24:26.918
I love people too much.

00:24:26.959 --> 00:24:27.999
[crowd chanting]

00:24:27.999 --> 00:24:29.167
Bradshaw:
George Weah is likely

00:24:29.209 --> 00:24:30.792
to be up against
tough opposition

00:24:30.834 --> 00:24:33.584
in his 2011 bid
for the presidency,

00:24:33.626 --> 00:24:36.584
with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
still popular.

00:24:36.626 --> 00:24:40.000
In 2009, the CDC retained
its senate seat

00:24:40.042 --> 00:24:42.999
in a closely watched
by-election in Monrovia.

00:24:42.999 --> 00:24:46.250
But some say George Weah\'s
relative lack of education

00:24:46.292 --> 00:24:48.834
is still a weakness.

00:24:48.876 --> 00:24:51.792
- If George Weah is to ascend
to the presidency,

00:24:51.834 --> 00:24:53.292
it will not be now.

00:24:53.334 --> 00:24:57.167
He will have to prepare himself
for the future,

00:24:57.209 --> 00:25:02.083
because chance in life will only
favor the prepared mind.

00:25:02.125 --> 00:25:04.999
- In Liberia, we don\'t lack
educated people,

00:25:04.999 --> 00:25:08.584
but we lack committed leaders,
and George has that.

00:25:08.626 --> 00:25:10.834
He has that commitment
to leadership.

00:25:10.876 --> 00:25:13.584
So he\'s not just
a soccer player,

00:25:13.626 --> 00:25:16.292
but he\'s a phenomenon
in Liberia,

00:25:16.334 --> 00:25:19.042
and he inspires people,
and he loves his country.

00:25:20.626 --> 00:25:23.626
Bradshaw: Can a footballer
be a successful president?

00:25:23.667 --> 00:25:25.834
Sometime
before the next World Cup

00:25:25.876 --> 00:25:27.375
or even maybe the one
after that,

00:25:27.417 --> 00:25:31.375
Liberia may yet have the chance
to find out.

00:25:31.417 --> 00:25:33.792
Till then,
George Weah remains

00:25:33.834 --> 00:25:38.209
on the edge
of his greatest goal.

00:25:38.250 --> 00:25:40.375
- You\'re wealthy.
You\'re a star.

00:25:40.417 --> 00:25:41.999
Everybody looks up to you.

00:25:41.999 --> 00:25:45.167
Why do you want
to start a new adventure

00:25:45.209 --> 00:25:46.999
by becoming president?

00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:49.375
- Well, if you ask me
that question,

00:25:49.417 --> 00:25:50.751
that\'s a good question.

00:25:50.792 --> 00:25:52.918
But at the end of the day,
you know,

00:25:52.959 --> 00:25:56.000
being successful
doesn\'t limit me.

00:25:56.042 --> 00:25:58.667
Of course you feel proud,
proud of yourself,

00:25:58.709 --> 00:25:59.999
feel so great, you know,

00:25:59.999 --> 00:26:02.167
and you almost feel
like the king of the world.

00:26:02.209 --> 00:26:04.292
But at the end of the day,
you know,

00:26:04.334 --> 00:26:07.209
it\'s all about contributing
to your society.