Ivorian and Chelsea legend Didier Drogba was dealt a crushing blow to his presidential aspirations following his loss in the recently held Ivorian Football Federation presidential elections last Saturday.
The former skipper of the Ivory Coast was tipped to follow in the footsteps of four-time African footballer of the year, Samuel Eto’o. However, what ensued in the elections did not go according to the scripts with Drogba suffering a loss in the first round of the elections.
Drogba garnered 21 votes out of 131 votes cast (16.03% of the total votes), a far cry from his opponents, Sory Diabaté and Yacine Diallo, who emerged as the eventual winner after the second round of votes.
But making meaning out of Drogba’s loss is experienced Ivorian sports journalist Mamadou Gaye believes the Chelsea legend did not endear himself to the constituents.
“This the guy who never lived in Cote d’Ivoire in all those years. He just comes and plays and goes back to France,” Gaye said.
“Most of the other African players like Eto’o and Sadio Mane understand what the African culture means. They did a lot for their villages, they left a legacy in their villages.”
Gaye stressed Drogba, who was the first African to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame, was rejected by his own people.
“The first team to come out publicly to say they will not be voting for Didier Drogba was a club from his village. Then the Professional Footballers Association of Cote d’Ivoire, which Drogba helped to form, also turned their back on him.”
“Now, if your football family and your physical family both reject you, by what miracle are you going to win?” he quizzed.
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