Didier Drogba leaves the presidential palace in October 2005 after a ceremony to celebrate World Cup qualification
“‘The one country in Africa with so many riches must not descend into war. Please lay down your weapons and hold elections. We want to have fun, so stop firing your guns.’ This is not a speech from a political rally. Those words were uttered on television from a cramped dressing room inside a football stadium in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum after one of the biggest sporting achievements in the Ivory Coast’s history. In October 2005, the national team’s 3-1 victory over Sudan secured World Cup qualification for the first time. Instead of celebrating, Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, who went on to represent Montreal Impact and Phoenix Rising, stood in front of a camera with a microphone in his right hand. Surrounded by his team-mates — current Manchester City assistant coach Kolo Toure put his left arm around the striker’s shoulders — Drogba spoke about the civil war back home between president Laurent Gbagbo’s forces and rebel soldiers. In October 2021, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) claimed 750,000 people were forcibly displaced by the conflict between 2002 and 2007. Exact figures for the loss of life are difficult to find, but estimates range between 1,000 and 3,000 deaths. …”
NY Times/The Athletic (Video)