Liberia Vs Nigeria : Ex-Chelsea Striker Weah Not The Oldest Player To Feature In A Game Between 'Two Countries'

Published: September 15, 2018

Former Chelsea star George Weah presumably entered into the history books when he started Liberia's 2-1 loss to Nigeria on Tuesday, September 11, thus becoming the oldest international footballer at the age of 51 years, but the record might not be ratified as a world record by FIFA.

As previously reported by allnigeriasoccer.com, the friendly game staged at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Stadium will not be recognized by FIFA as the Liberian Football Association and Nigerian Federation broke some rules.

Super Eagles manager Gernot Rohr used seven substitutes, one more than the required number for friendly matches, and a Liberian referee, Isaac Montgomery, officiated the game.

According to football statisticians RSSSF Group, the oldest player to feature in an international match is Barrie Dewsbury, who was aged 52 years 11 days when he took to the field in Sark's 16-0 loss to Greenland at the 2003 Island Games.

That record set by Dewsbury is not recognized by FIFA because Sark is not affiliated with the Swiss based organization, but he holds the title of being unofficially the oldest international footballer.

Prior to the Liberia vs Nigeria match, former Greece captain Yorghos Koudas was the oldest international footballer in history, he was aged 48years 301days when he played against Yugoslavia in September 1995.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel