DROGBA FAILS INFEDERATION PRESIDENT BID

Chelsea legend Didier Drogba has lost his bid to become the Ivory Coast Football Federation president after he came third out of the three candidates that contested for the post during the elections at the end of last month. He had earlier been talked up by former Chelsea and Ivory Coast national team colleague Salomon Kalou who said that Didier Drogba has what it takes to be the new leader as far as the Ivory Coast Football Federation is concerned. However, Drogba didn’t survive the first round of the elective congress held on Saturday, April 23, 2022.


Didier Drogba had just 21 votes at the end of the three-way race that also included SoryDiabate and YacineIdrissDiallo.Diabate had 50 votes after the first round of the elective congress, while Diallo had 59 votes after the first round of the elective congress.

At the end of the second round, Diallo emerged winner ahead of Diabate thus making him the new president of the Ivory Coast Football Federation.

The candidacy of Didier Drogba raised a lot of eyebrows ahead of the Ivory Coast Football Federation elections which was postponed on several occasions. It must be pointed out that his candidacy was controversial right from the moment he declared his intention to run for the presidential post when it comes to the Ivory Coast Football Federation.

Drogba did not receive the necessary support from the clubs and interest groups such as the players’ unions and the coaches association. He needed their nominations to be eligible for the Ivory Coast Football Federation elections. The dispute over the elections prompted world football’s governing body, FIFA, to step into the situation and setup a normalisation committee to oversee the affairs of the Ivory Coast Football Federation, while the statutes and electoral codes were rewritten. 44-year-old Didier Drogba was allowed to run for the elections, but he received little support from the Ivory Coast football community.