George Weah was an outstanding soccer forward from Liberia who excelled in the 1980s and 1990s with some of Europe’s biggest clubs — AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Marseille, Chelsea …

In 1995, he was named Fifa Player of the Year and won the Ballon d’Or, making him the first (and still only) African player to win those awards.

Today, he was declared the winner of the presidential election in his native land, with nearly 62 percent of the 1 million votes cast.

And, as is often the case when star athletes win an election, the questions begin immediately: Can a sportsman conditioned to the black-and-white laws of sports and representing the .001 demographic with the physical skills to play at the highest level … be expected to excel in another realm, one not governed by a referee?

Also, unlike Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura (wrestling) or U.S. senators Bill Bradley (NBA) and Jim Bunning (baseball) and Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson (NBA) … Weah is taking over as chief executive. Making him the only former athlete to be head of state.

Liberia represents a test for any politician. From 1989 through 2003 the country had two civil wars spanning most of that period. More than 250,000 people may gave died in the fighting.

The Ebola virus ravaged the country a few years ago, and Liberia apparently has very little money and quite a bit of corruption.

His predecessor was praised for two things: Avoiding another civil war and turning over the government to a democratically elected successor. That would be Weah.

He has his work cut out for him. He will have to be as good in governing as he was in soccer. Odds are, no one can be world-class in two such disparate realms. But Liberia can hope and Weah can try.