Ex-soccer star Weah to run again for president of Liberia

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) - Former world footballer of the year George Weah will make a second bid to become president of Liberia when current leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's final term ends next year.

The ex-AC Milan striker told supporters on Thursday he was formally declaring he would stand as a candidate in the 2017 election.

Weah has long held political ambitions in his West African homeland and formed the Congress for Democratic Change party. He lost to Sirleaf in the 2005 election and failed in a bid to be the vice president in 2011. He is a senator.

Weah was world footballer of the year in 1995, and is one of Africa's best-ever players. He won two league titles with Milan and also played in France and England. He is a three-time African player of the year.

Declaring his intention to stand for president again, Weah told supporters he sympathized with the plight of many poor Liberians.

"Like many of you, I have been a victim of poverty," he said. "There were times I didn't have school fees. I continued to strive with the hope that one day life will get better."

Some of the supporters who gathered to hear his announcement held up giant portraits of Weah.

Although he is Liberia's most famous soccer player, the 49-year-old Weah has been criticized as an ineffective politician with little experience to support his attempt to become president. Weah is likely to face Sirleaf's vice president, Joseph Boakai, in the election next year.