Written by Alicia Rando, TDN Cross-cultural Youth Exchange Fellow

New York, NY (October 2021) – Do you know that Didier Drogba is not only a soccer legend, but a dedicated advocate for the health and sustainable development of communities? Well, I don’t know much about his career, but I love soccer. Since I was a child, I have been a faithful follower of Real Madrid and La Liga. Although I am not good at playing it, I really enjoy watching the games with my father or with my group of friends, especially if it is a “clásico” or a derby.

The fact that the World Health Organization has appointed Didier Drogba, Goodwill Ambassador for Sport and Health is a news to celebrate. As we know, soccer is a very popular sport worldwide, especially in impoverished areas where young people often dream of becoming great sports figures and follow the example of their heroes like former Chelsea player, Didier Drogba. With him as an ambassador of a global organization, youth find a new advocate and it will be extremely beneficial for them since they can take him as a positive role model and maintain their habits or make changes in their day to day that help improve their health.

A sedentary lifestyle among young people puts their physical as well as their mental health at risk. Men sana in corpore sano used to say the Romans, but currently 4 out of 5 adolescents worldwide do not have access to platforms or infrastructures that provide them with complete access to physical activities. Having an active lifestyle during adolescence has lifelong benefits: improves muscle tone and cardiorespiratory activity, contributes to bone health and helps metabolism. In addition, physical activity has a positive impact on cognitive development and socialization.

This appointment happened in the context of implementing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal Nº 3, which seeks to ensure healthy lives and promoting the well-being of all the world’s people is essential for prosperous societies. Access to health and well-being is a human right.