Didier Drogba to Speak at Global Sports Forum Barcelona

English soccer club Chelsea forward and Ivory Coast national team captain Didier Drogba, one of the most influential players on and off the pitch on the planet, will be at the Global Sports Forum Barcelona.

The Ivorian’s charity work and strive for peace in his homeland started in 2006, when he played a vital role in bringing peace to his country by making a desperate plea to the combatants, asking them to lay down their arms, a plea which was answered with a cease fire after 5 years of civil war. Drogba later helped move an African Cup of Nations qualifier to the rebel stronghold of Bouake; a move that helped confirm the peace process.

His involvement in the peace process lead to Drogba being named as one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine and was appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a Goodwill Ambassador.

Drogba’s charity work continued when, in late 2009, he announced he would be donating the 3 million GBP signing on fee for his endorsement of Pepsi for the construction of a hospital in his hometown of Abidjan. This work was done through Drogba’s recently created “Didier Drogba Foundation”.

Drogba has accepted the invitation from the Global Sports Forum Barcelona and will attend the session: “Good citizen; good business: Applying commercial principles to social responsibility”, alongside another football star, Raï.