“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 – visited Unesco on Thursday April 4 to discuss his experience and his role in this quest. of 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?

Didier drogba : It’s not a desire that I’ve always had, it’s above all a necessity to live in a peaceful country, in a peaceful world. As I am a public figure, my actions may have more impact than “Mr. Everyman.” So, obviously, it resonates. This message that I sent a few years ago (in 2005 in Ivory Coast) had a slightly stronger impact, even if I think it is a message that anyone could have carried. The first president of Côte d’Ivoire, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, said that “peace was not an empty word, but a behavior”. These are words that speak to me.

When I had the chance to be appointed vice-president of Peace and Sport, it was a source of pride, but also a logical outcome because I aspire to this as a citizen of the world. By my personality, I am someone who likes when there is harmony, peace around me.

You say that you grew up with the ravages of conflict. What did you learn from this?

When I talk about this, it is not necessarily about the conflicts in Côte d’Ivoire, even if there was the crisis of 2012 and the one before. There have been them all over the world: the genocide in Rwanda, the wars in Chad, in the Central African Republic. These are not easy times to live through. We all think it only happens to other people, until the day it happens to you. And there, we say to ourselves “damn, what do we do? How do we act?” When you get to this point, it’s not that it’s too late, but the spiral is difficult to stop. It’s so easy to get into conflict.

Better to dialogue, to exchange, to try to perpetuate a peace which is so fragile. But it is much more difficult to maintain a warm, welcoming, understanding, compassionate state of mind in order to move things forward positively.

“When a 15-year-old girl comes to tell you about her suffering, it’s very difficult to find the right words”

What have you learned from your travels to different countries around the world?

We recently took a trip to Colombia, to Cartagena, to meet groups of young people who came from different parts of the country. I have seen children who live in favelas, and who are exposed to violence, drugs, crime. They only want one thing: to get out of it. They want to be good people. These people must be encouraged.

We met the former president of Colombia, Ivan Duque, and we did some activities with these young people. It was really a beautiful moment, a great moment of inclusion, of sharing life experiences. I’ve been lucky enough to experience a lot of things, but when a 15-year-old girl comes to tell you about her life and her suffering, to tell you that she lost her father and mother… Honestly, it’s shocking , and very difficult to find the right words to comfort her and give her hope. But that’s my role as vice president, as an ambassador for peace.

Are there missing great figures, great defenders of the peaceful cause?

A few years ago, we had peace leaders. There was Nelson Mandela, for example, and also social leaders like Abbot Pierre and Mother Teresa of Calcutta. I had the chance to find myself alongside Nelson Mandela, and when you are face to face with him, it’s inspiring. There is immediate respect for the person in front of you. He has credibility through his experience, his life, his history. These people were able to play a decisive role in conflict resolution, and there are certainly people who do so today, but in the shadows. I think it would be really good to have strong, emblematic figures who can bring two heads of state to sit down to discuss, and to convey positive messages. I think the world would be better off.

What do you remember from this meeting with Nelson Mandela?

I have a lot of beautiful moments and memories in my head. Just being next to him and listening to him… It was almost gospel! It has a strong story. I had the chance to meet the Mandela family a little, and it was really a great opportunity, extremely enriching.

Using sport to promote peace is one thing, pacifying the sporting world is another. Are you worried when you hear about the increase in racist acts in sport?

It worries me because it’s a social phenomenon. We experience this in almost all countries, and it is reflected in football stadiums, rugby stadiums, and others. This means that the problem does not come from football or rugby. The problem is much deeper than that.

Why can’t we eradicate it?

Because no one wants to take risks. Everyone stays in their positions, everyone “defend your steak”. One accuses the other, and vice versa, but no one has the courage to say: “Let’s put this aside. Let’s sit down, talk. What’s going on? Why are we doing this ?” Can’t we sit down and communicate, to try to find common ground in order to limit the damage? Because it’s starting to be a lot.

“Fifa alone cannot solve the problems of racism”

Major sporting events show that sport can unite people, but this tends to be quickly forgotten once these events are over…

Because it takes time, and people don’t have time anymore! We have to move quickly, we have to try to save time, and no one is going to take the time to sit down and say: “Okay, these principles worked, we must maintain them for it to continue.” Maintaining peace between peoples requires seriousness, rigor, and ingenuity too, to be able to change things. This is important, because the longer things last, the more people get tired of them. So something new is needed, and it’s not always easy to implement.

Would your message be: “Let’s ask ourselves, discuss to resolve the problems, and act together”?

We were talking about racism earlier. Look at what Vinicius suffered in Spain. Everyone said: “When will Fifa take action?” I think it has already started to crack down, but FIFA alone cannot solve this problem, since it is a societal problem. We can sanction club presidents, the club, the player. But for what happens in the stadiums, in the stands, who are we sanctioning and how? There is a whole charter to be drawn up, which all sporting authorities must validate, and the nations too. This is something that must be presented to the European Union, to the African Union, to all world summits. This must be taken seriously. Today we are here, what tells you that tomorrow it won’t be worse?