INTERVIEW. Didier drogba : "The world lacks iconic leaders for peace"

He swapped his football jersey for the costume of a fervent defender of peace. Didier drogba, vice-president of Peace and Sport – an independent international association placed under the High Patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco – was at UNESCO on Thursday April 4 to discuss its experience and its role in this quest for a peaceful world.

For the former OM and Chelsea scorer, the path to this new mission was clear. In 2005, after Côte d’Ivoire qualified for its first World Cup and while the country was in the middle of conflict, he wanted to send a message on television, convinced that his voice could carry. “We have proven to you that the whole of Côte d’Ivoire can coexist, play together for the same objective. (…) Today, we kneel down to ask you, please, to lay down your arms, “organize elections, and everything will be better.” Words that had a real impact in the land of “Elephants”.

On the occasion of the international dialogue “Athletes in the Games for Peace” and just before the international day of sport for development and peace (this April 6), franceinfo: sport spoke with Didier drogba.

Franceinfo: sport: Didier, where does your commitment to peace come from? When did it go back?