FIVE ATHLETES WHO COULD SHOW OSCAR DE LA HOYA A THING OR TWO ABOUT POLITICS
SENIOR REPORTER
Former boxer Oscar de la Hoya announced last week that he was “very seriously” considering a run for US president in 2020 against Donald Trump.
The 1992 Olympic gold medallist, who went on to claim multiple world titles across six different weight divisions, said: “If Kanye West can do it, why not me?” Former AC Milan forward and 1995 Ballon d’Or winner George Weah is the current President of Liberia, after beating Joseph Boakai in last year’s election. He got involved in politics after his 2003 retirement from football, where he incidentally hung up his boots in Abu Dhabi with Al Jazira. He unsuccessfully ran for president in 2005 and vice-president in 2011, but his chance finally came last year. Weah cited fighting corruption, reforming the economy, combating illiteracy and improving life conditions as the main targets of his presidency in January’s swearing in ceremony, which was attended by fellow African players Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o.
“I’ve had millions of people tell me ‘Why don’t you stand up and have a bigger voice? And obviously the biggest voice you can have is being president.”
The 45-year-old of Mexican descent is currently assembling an exploratory team to assess his viability for candidacy, and “if the numbers look right, then I’m going to go for it”, he said.
Here are five other sports stars who have entered politics that The Golden Boy should probably have on speed dial. Pakistan’s former cricket captain and all-rounder Imran Khan became the country’s prime minister last month. Retiring from cricket in 1992 with 3,807 Test runs and 362 wickets, he went on to form the centrist Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice) party in 1996. He contested for a seat in the national assembly in 2002 and served as an opposition member from the district of Mianwali until 2007. Re-elected in 2013, he then went on to defeat the ruling PML-N in this year’s election, promising to crack down on corruption and improve the democratic process, while putting the poor first.