George Weah becomes Liberian president: From Bhaichung Bhutia to Imran Khan, athletes who entered politics

On Friday, former AC Milan striker George Weah was elected as the new president of Liberia after defeating incumbent Vice-President Joseph Boakai in the elections. Weah, the first African player to win both FIFA’s World Player of the Year trophy and the Ballon d’Or, will be sworn in as Liberia’s president on 22 January 2018 after he polled 62% of the vote in the elections.

The three-time African Footballer of the Year had earlier contested in the 2005 Presidential elections but lost to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Weah’s loss was primarily attributed to his lack of political experience as well as educational qualifications. Weah gained political experience by getting elected to the Liberian Senate while getting a degree in business administration from the USA.

Weah, however, is not the first sportsperson to enter politics with many renowned athletes wading into politics with mixed results. Here are some other prominent sportspersons who have embarked on a political career.

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

Colonel (Retd) Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is one of India’s most decorated athletes. The army man represented India at the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games in the double trap shooting event and was India’s only medal winner at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Rathore also won 3 golds and one silver medal in the Commonwealth Games as well as a silver and a bronze medal at the Asian Games. After retiring from the Indian Army in 2013, Rathore joined the BJP and contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from the Jaipur (Rural) constituency. Rathore is the current Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth and Sports Affairs as well as the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting.

Bhaichung Bhutia

Described as ‘God’s gift to Indian football’ by the legendary IM Vijayan, Bhutia was the torchbearer of the sport in India. The Sikkimese player was the first Indian footballer to sign a professional contract with a European team when he signed for English club Bury FC in 1999. Bhaichung is India’s most capped player and was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1998 after helping JCT Mills win the league. The Sikkimese Sniper founded United Sikkim to promote the sport in his home state. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Bhutia contested from the Darjeeling constituency as a member of the Trinamool Congress but lost in the election.

Manny Pacquiao

Pacquiao has assumed the status of a national icon after his heroics in boxing. The Filipino Slugger has won titles across six different weight categories including flyweight, super bantamweight, super featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and super welterweight. Considered as among the best pound-for-pound boxers of all time, Pacquiao has fought in 68 bouts winning 59 of them while losing 7 and drawing two bouts. Pacquiao entered Filipino politics in 2007 when he contested for a seat in the Philippines House of Representatives but he lost. However, he was successful in getting elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 and 2013. In 2016, Pacquiao was elected to the Philippines Senate and currently serves as the chairperson of the Philippine Senate Public Works Committee.

Imran Khan

The captain of the 1992 World Cup-winning Pakistan team, Imran Khan is considered to be among the greatest Pakistani cricketers as well as being one of the best all-rounders in cricket. Khan scored in excess of 3000 runs for Pakistan in Tests as well as ODIs and taking 362 wickets in Tests and 182 wickets in ODIs for Pakistan. Khan was also instrumental in leading Pakistan to their first Test series victory in England in 1987. Khan retired from cricket six months after leading his side to their only World Cup triumph. In 1996, Khan formed his own political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. In the 1997 general elections, Khan contested from two seats but lost from both but was elected to the National Assembly in 2002. In the 2013 general elections, Khan became the de facto leader of the opposition after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf emerged as the 2nd largest party in the polls.

Vitali Klitschko

The only world heavyweight champion to never be knocked down, Vitali along with younger brother Wladimir dominated the heavyweight boxing career for more than a decade between 2004 and 2015. From 2 July 2011 to 15 December 2013, the Klitschko brothers held all major heavyweight titles. Vitali had the second longest reign as a WBC heavyweight champion of all time and boasts of a 45-2 professional record. Vitali is the only boxer to be given the title of ‘Eternal Champion’ by the WBC for successfully defending his title 10 times. Vitali contested the 2006 Kiev Mayoral elections but lost it. He headed the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform from 2010 to 2015 when the party merged with the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and he became the leader of the party. He contested the 2014 Kiev Mayoral elections and won it with an overwhelming majority. Vitali also serves as the Head of the Kiev City State Administration.

Mohammad Azharuddin

A supremely gifted batsman, Azharuddin is the second-longest ODI captain in terms of matches played behind MS Dhoni winning 90 of the 174 matches he captained. He scored more than 15oo0 runs for India in Tests and ODIs combined and is among the top 10 run-getters for India in both the formats. However, his career ended in controversial circumstances after he was accused in a match-fixing scandal and was subsequently handed lifetime bans from the ICC and the BCCI. In 2009, Azhar joined the Indian National Congress and contested and won from the Moradabad constituency in Uttar Pradesh in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

Garry Kasparov

Considered as one of the greatest chess players of all time, Kasparov became the youngest ever undisputed World Chess Champion in 1985 at age 22. From 1986 until his retirement in 2005, Kasparov was ranked World No 1 for 225 out of 228 months and with an Elo rating of 2851, Kasparov is second only behind Magnus Carlsen. Kasparov has been a vocal critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin and has regularly taken part in marches protesting Putin’s rule. Kasparov announced of his decision to contest the 2008 Russian Presidential elections as the candidate for the anti-Putin Other Russia coalition. However, he was forced to quit after failing to meet requirements to stand as a candidate, something which he blamed the government for.

Romario

Considered to be one of the greatest Brazil players, Romario has, according to his personal count, scored more than 1000 goals in his career. According to official records, Romario is the second-most prolific goalscorer with 772 goals for club and country. Romario won the 1994 FIFA World Cup with Brazil where he also won the Golden Ball awarded to the best player of the tournament. Romario was an integral part of Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona dream team where he forged a deadly partnership with fellow striker Hristo Stoichkov as Barcelona won the La Liga in 1994. Romario top scored with 30 goals in 33 matches and he won the FIFA World Player of the Year award for his exploits for club and country. Romario joined the Brazilian Socialist Party in 2010 and was elected to the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies in the 2010 General Elections. In 2014, Romario was elected to the Senate after polling the most votes ever for a candidate from the state of Rio de Janeiro.