Didier Drogba has been in the news since the start of the 2023 African Cup of Nations. In a video that stunned many, Mohamed Sylla, an ex-convict, reveals that his admiration for Ivorian football icon Didier Drogba cost him his freedom in 2010. He tells his story:
“My detention is linked to Didier Drogba, who has always been my hero. During a match between Manchester United and Chelsea, Drogba was about to score a goal but fell. A colonel watching the game with me in a bar insulted him, saying that Samuel Eto’o was better. I told him not to talk like that.
The disagreement got out of hand, and I ended up in police custody, then sentenced to 7 months in prison. I spent 6 months and 20 days there. Only God sustained me through that ordeal. I suffered because of my passion for Didier Drogba. When my wife was pregnant, I told her that if it was a boy, I would call him Didier Drogba. In the end, it was a girl, so I named her Lala, after Drogba’s wife.”
When he heard that Côte d’Ivoire would be hosting the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Mohamed Sylla left Guinea to meet his idol. His dream remains unfulfilled. He appeals to the Ivorians:
“When I heard about the AFCON 2023 in Côte d’Ivoire, I came with my daughter in the hope of meeting my idol. I don’t know anyone, so I sleep at the station. I’m asking Ivorians to help me meet Didier Drogba. I’ve put up with a lot because of him,” he concludes.
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