Didier Drogba , Ronaldo, Zidane in 12th Annual Match Against Poverty.
Football superstar and Chelsea striker Didier Drogba joined a star-studded array of international active and retired players for the 12th Annual Match Against Poverty which will took place on 20 April at the Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium in Saint-Etienne, France.
Didier Drogba, who like Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane is also a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, teamed up with the other football stars for a match against an AS St-Etienne All Stars team to help boost Ebola recovery efforts. Two thirds of the match proceeds will support UNDP’s work in the hardest- hit countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, helping them to build back better from the epidemic.
The remaining third will go to the Club’s Association “ASSE Coeur-Vert”, asd which supports social projects in Saint-Etienne. “I am honoured to support the people of the three countries who are trying to get through the devastation caused by the Ebola epidemic”, said Drogba, “and I encourage everyone to pull together to end this crisis, and to prevent it ever happening again.”
The Ivorian football legend joins the friendly match for the second time. “I am also thrilled to be with Ronaldo, Zidane and all the other players to make a difference in the fight against Ebola.”
The players confirmed up to now in the “Drogba, Ronaldo, Zidane, & Friends” team are: Cafu, Clarence Seedorf, Edwin van der Sar, Éric Abidal, Christian Karembeu, Youri Djorkaeff and Fabien Barthez.
Former and current St. Etienne players will comprise the St Etienne All Stars team. Thirteen players have confirmed up to now: Alex, Jérémie Janot, Pascal Feindouno, Dominique Rocheteau, Lionel Potillon, ubomír Moravík, Laurent Paganelli, Bjorn Kvarme, Efstathios Tavlaridis, Sébastien Perez, Stéphane Pédron, Julien Sablé and Laurent Batlles. AS St Etienne’s Coach, Christophe Galtier will coach the team. Pierluigi Collina, the legendary six-time World Referee winner, will referee the Match.
The match, which was televised globally, was supported by football’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and organised in partnership with the Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA).
