Liberians’ hopes of seeing the son of President George Weah wearing the Lone Star uniform has been thrown aside as Timothy Weah has opted to don another red, white, and blue.

The younger Weah decided to play for the senior men’s team of the U.S. He is expected to debut for the team on March 27 when the Yanks take on Paraguay in North Carolina in a FIFA international friendly fixture.

Weah was one of the 22 players invited by U.S. head coach Dave Sarachan for the match against Paraguay and also the youngest player invited by the former Los Angeles Galaxy FC boss.

Weah expressed gratitude for the invitation to join the team and he thanked his parents for guiding him in his career. The Paris Saint-Germain youth player wrote on his Facebook page, “Feeling extremely blessed and honored to receive my first call up to the senior USMNT (United States Senior Men Team). I thank God and my parents for guiding me along the way and also to everyone who has stuck behind me and supported me throughout my journey. Now, it’s time to start this new chapter in my life and I’m always up for the challenge.”

Meanwhile, Liberians have had a mixed reaction over the young Weah’s decision to represent the U.S. While he was congratulated by some Liberians, others have expressed their frustration by his decision to play for the U.S.

Among those frustrated over Weah’s decision is U.S.-based Liberian, Ambrose Wotorson, who expressed his frustration through an open letter to Pres. George Weah via Facebook. In the letter to the president, Wotorson acknowledged the fact that Timothy Weah had represented American youth teams but frowned at his senior national team call.

“His exploits for the U.S. youth teams were beautiful and necessary steps in his fledgling career,” he said. “But the senior team is another matter. You (Pres. Weah) can’t be the president of a sovereign, independent African nation, with your hard-working wife occupying a prominent role in African woman’s football governance, but your son somehow ends up playing for the senior U.S. national team. That is not a contradiction that any of our patriots are likely to forgive or forget.”

With the United States failing to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup that will be hosted in Russia, they will only be involved into friendly matches until the qualification for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup begins.

This means there is still a chance for Timothy Weah to represent the Lone Star in the future. Liberia plays D.R. Congo in September in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. Timothy Weah can represent Liberia if he doesn’t make an appearance in a FIFA-sanctioned match for the U.S. and is willing to play for Liberia.

Featured photo courtesy of U.S. Soccer