The day Didier Drogba stopped a civil war

Didier Drogba has been a successful player, especially during his time at Chelsea, and a legend of African football (3 times named best player in Africa). But perhaps his greatest achievement is not in the world of sport. Perhaps what the Ivorian is most proud of is having appeased the masses at a critical time for his country.

In 2002, a conflict began in Ivory Coast that would lead to countless conflicts and thousands of deaths, a civil war following an attempted putsch. The city of Bouake suffered the most damage. At the same time as this war, the Ivorian national team began to flourish with players such as Drogba, Eboue and the Toure brothers.

The Elephants were closer than ever to reaching the FIFA World Cup for the first time in their history. If they beat Sudan, they would have a place in Germany 2006. The match was played on 8th October 2005 and Ivory Coast won it 3-1 with goals from Akale and Dindane, who scored a brace.

After marking Ivory Coast's first World Cup participation, Drogba sent the following message to his people: "Ivorians, men and women, from the north, from the south, from the east and from the west, you saw today that the whole of Ivory Coast can live as a community and can play together with the same objective: to qualify for the World Cup. We had promised you that this party would bring the people together.

 

February 6, 2024

"Today we ask you on our knees to forgive each other. Forgive each other, forgive each other. The only country in Africa that has all these riches cannot fall into chaos like this. Please, lay down your arms and organise free elections and everything will be better. We want to have fun, put down your guns".

In 2006, the former Chelsea player was invited by his country's government after receiving the best African player award. At this meeting, he asked the president to allow him to travel to Bouake to share his award as a sign of peace, and the city received him as a hero. He also met with the rebel leader and was later allowed to play a match there against Madagascar in the qualifiers for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.

Finally, the African legend managed to bring the two sides' representatives together and they pledged in front of the cameras to stop the conflict. In 2007, the end of the war was announced and it proved that football sometimes goes beyond 22 players kicking a ball around.