On 19th September 2002, complete mayhem broke out which divided Drogba’s homeland Ivory Coast into north and south. President Laurent Gbagbos was ruling the south, and a rebel team known as The New Forces of Ivory Coast, headed by Guillaume Soro, took over the north. 

There were serious attacks across various cities in the country, which claimed the lives of many.

Lamenting how awful the war was, an ex-footballer who fled Ivory Coast, Sebastian Gnahore, recalled,” It was awful. When I called my sister, I could hear the shooting outside the house. They all hid under the beds for four days and only came out to find food.

On October 8, 2005, at El Merreikh Stadium, Omdurman in Sudan, Ivory Coast dreamed of qualifying for their first-ever World Cup.

To bring this to life, the Elephants of the Ivory Coast subjected Sudan to a 3-1 defeat. However, their hope and fate to book a spot in the biggest international tournament still lay over the match between Cameroon and Egypt, who were also playing on the day.

The Ivorians waited anxiously, hoping Cameroon did not secure a victory with 1-1 on the scoresheet. Without much ado, Cameroon was awarded a penalty at the stopped time, and at this point, it seemed Ivory Coast’s dream of qualifying for the World Cup would be aborted.

However, the reverse happened to be the case as Pierre Wome missed the decisive spot kick to earn the Elephants their first-ever World Cup ticket.

With 20,000 spectators in the stadium, the Ivorians jubilated to the fullest. Just then, Chelsea legend Didier Drogba cast his mind back to the civil war that had been rooting the country since 2002.

According to the BBC, after securing the victory amidst the celebration, Didier Drogba said in an emotional speech, “Men and women of Ivory Coast. From the north, south, center, and west, we proved today that all Ivorians can coexist and play together with a shared aim – to qualify for the World Cup.

He continued: “We promised you that the celebrations would unite the people – today we beg you on our knees.

Then all the players fell to their knees as Drogba added: “The one country in Africa with so many riches must not descend into war. Please lay down your weapons and hold elections.”

After the moody speech, the players rose and chanted: “We want to have fun, so stop firing your guns!”

His action was said to have driven the country to a change. The video clip of the action had circulated widely on Ivory televisions, and subsequently, the two sides of the country_ the north and the south_ who had been at loggerheads over rebels, sealed a deal to halt the war.

A year after the World Cup, Didier Drogba insisted that the national team’s game against Madagascar was to be played in the rebel’s pool, Bouake in the northern Ivory Coast. Drogba is from the south. His action was targeted at further strengthening the amiability of the two fighting sides.

And the match went well, with Didier Drogba wrapping up the scoring in a 5-0 victory against Madagascar