Veteran Ivorian football journalist, Mamadou Gaye, has explained that former captain Didier Drogba lost the country’s Football Association elections because he did not truly immerse himself with the Ivorian football community.
Drogba failed on Saturday in a bid to become president of Ivory Coast’s football federation in elections that were won by Yacine Idriss Diallo.
According to Gaye, the first signs of Drogba’s defeat came in rejections from football clubs from his village and the association of Ivorian football players.
“This the guy who never lived in Cote d’Ivoire in all those years. He just comes and plays and goes back to France,” Gaye began.
“Most of the other African players like Eto’o and Sadio Mane understand what the African culture means. They did a lot for their villages, they left a legacy in their villages.
“The first team to come out publicly to say they will not be voting for Didier Drogba, was a club from his village.
“Then the Professional Footballers Association of Cote d’Ivoire, which Drogba help to form, also turned their back on him.
“Now, if your football family and your physical family both reject you, by what miracle are you going to win?” he quizzed.