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On June 21, 2003, Liberia had a home Africa Cup qualifier to play. The war had reached the capital and the federation had no money for a plane, so it called George Weah. 'I got the plane,' he said, 'but could not transfer the money in time.'

So Liberia fielded what it had: footballers from Buduburam, a refugee camp west of Accra where tens of thousands of Liberians had fled the wars, plus a few pros on holiday. The 'home' match was played in Accra. They lost 1-2 to Guinea.

The man they called knew the cost. Weah, 1995 Ballon d'Or winner, still the only African to hold it, bankrolled the Lone Star through two civil wars: salaries, kits, travel, nearly two million dollars of his own. In 2001 he brought Liberia one point from a first World Cup. After the deciding loss at home, fans stoned the bus and cursed his mother. He quit, came back, scored the winner in Freetown. One point short. He never played a World Cup.

The plane never came. The team did: men the war had pushed out, playing their country's home game in the city where Liberia made peace that summer. They lost. But they had answered. Home that June was not the capital. It was the shirt, and the men inside it.