The Didier Drogba Foundation

The Didier Drogba Foundation

One thing that sets football apart from other top sports is that the majority of players come from humble upbringings. Cricket, golf and rugby union tend to produce talent from youngsters who have had greater opportunities as they are growing up - purely on the traditional support bases for each sport, chances to play as kids and the costs involved.

So it comes as no surprise when professionals decide to give something back to the communities which produced them, be it charitable donations or public appearances. Yet it is fair to say few have gone as far as pledging to build a new hospital - but that is exactly what Didier Drogba is trying to do through his Foundation.

The Chelsea striker is right up there with the game's highest earners, and commands massive endorsement fees to put his name to any product. Yet not one penny of the money he receives outside of his Chelsea salary goes into his coffers. Instead, it is all ploughed into the Didier Drogba Foundation, set up to improve chances and opportunities back in his native Ivory Coast.

So when, in 2009, Drogba signed a £3m deal to front a Pepsi advertising campaign, all of that money went back to Africa. Royalties from a book and DVD went the same way, and two charity balls have added to the fund over the past two years. The aim is to help provide healthcare and education in the country, which until recently has been stricken with civil war which has left the wider public surviving in conditions which hardly warrant thinking about.

He set up the Foundation after a close friend, Stefan, died from leukaemia and the project gained momentum after 19 fans died and 132 people were injured when a wall collapsed in Abidjan's Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium before a World Cup qualifier between Ivory Coast and Malawi in March 2009. Drogba said: "I have seen much suffering throughout Africa, especially with my work with the UN. But when I visited a hospital in Abidjan, I was shocked by the terrible conditions."

"We hear about all the incurable diseases, but these kids are just as likely to die from diabetes because there is no insulin available. It was then I decided the foundation's first project should be to build and fund a hospital giving people basic healthcare and a chance just to stay alive."

Drogba is also a global ambassador for the UN, and added: "I believe in giving people a chance. I know from the experience of my own country how terrible war can be for individuals, families and communities. But I always know that, if people are given a chance, they can achieve many things, even after a devastating conflict."

"I'll never forget where I came from. I was given a chance to succeed in life, but I always think about those who did not get that chance. We all have to work together if we want to combat poverty."

> The Didier Drogba Foundation