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Day of truth for Didier Drogba and his competitors in Ivory Coast FA election

The new president of the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) will be known by tonight on Saturday, April 23 after the election.

After many months of postponement, the election for the presidency of the Ivorian Football Federation will be held this Saturday, April 23 at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research in Yamoussoukro.

For this election which promises to be tense, three candidates are in the running. African football star, Didier Drogba, Sory Diabaté and Yacine Idriss Diallo.

Torchbearer of the “Renaissance” project, the former captain of the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire wants to restore the image of the Ivorian game .

But despite his past as an African football legend, Drogba is not the favorite in this election according to observers.

This Saturday, the members of the AG who will vote as they will have to choose among the three leaders in order to get Ivorian football out of the crisis.

Rest assured, Ivory Coast does not find itself in the same situation as Cameroon, whose Football Federation (Fecafoot) had a new president – ​​Samuel Eto’o – less than a month before the kick-off of the AFCON  that it was organizing, and after having been led by a Normalisation Committee.

Ivory Coast is organizing the next edition of the great event of African football in 2023, and, on Saturday April 23, the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF), which has also been placed – since December 2020 – under the rule of a Normalisation Committee. , will return to normal operation.

As in Cameroon, a former icon of international football seek to take over from Augustin Sidy Diallo – the former president of the FIF, who died in November 2020 of Covid-19. Didier Drogba (44), ex-captain of the Elephants and ex-striker of Marseille and Chelsea announced at  the beginning of 2020 his candidacy for  an election several times postponed .

Despite his immense career and popularity among football fans, players, members of the government and deputies – the candidate, Drogba is not the favorite for this election.

Sory Diabaté, the former vice-president of Sidy Diallo and the businessman Idriss Diallo, former member of the FIF and vice-president of Afad, a Ligue 1 club, are even ahead of him in official polls, carried out with the 81 members (76 clubs and 5 interest groups) of the electoral college.

Drogba too sure of himself?

Didier Drogba is confident. He believes he can win as he declared during a press conference on April 18 in Abidjan. “After April 23, a new era will begin. My priority will be to unite. Yes, I think I have every chance of winning this election.”

But he was unable to convince the majority of clubs and the Association of Ivorian Footballers (AFI), of which he was one of the founding members.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA viewed Drogba’s election favorably, but  Patrice Motsepe, the president of CAF, was unable to convince President Alassane Ouattara , the Ivorian head of state, to promote a consensus around the candidacy of the former goalscorer.

“His program has interesting aspects, on the training of young people or the development of women’s football for example, but Drogba lacks experience. He is also criticized for not being interested in the problems of Ivorian football when he was active, for being a little too sure of himself and distant. Having been a great footballer does not necessarily make you a favorite, and he may have neglected this aspect, ” says the leader of a Ligue 1 club.

Slight favourite Diabate

A few hours before the end of the official campaign and the election scheduled for Saturday in Yamoussoukro, Sory Diabate and Idriss Diallo seem to be ahead of Drogba in the voting intentions. The former is even considered to be a slight favourite. And revels in this position in pole position. “The trend seems to be favourable,” says Diabate. But nothing is done, however. I presented a realistic program, focusing on the main concerns of the clubs.”

Anyone who wants to increase subsidies for Ligue 1, Ligue 2 and Division 3 clubs wants to guarantee a minimum salary for players, depending on the division in which they play. “We have to make the championship more attractive. I want to renegotiate the TV rights with Canal+, to whom Ivorian football owes a lot, and develop the sale of derivative products, with a FIF shop,” he says.

For Sory Diabaté, state investment is essential, at least temporarily. “The state is ready to commit, until the clubs find other sources of income. The more attractive our championship will be, the more it will interest sponsors and the public. Ivorian football must shine through its clubs, and not just through its national team. If he wins, Diabaté promises to offer his two adversaries to reach out to them and “work together”. “The campaign is taking place in a serene climate, assures Diabaté. Contacts exist with Idriss and Didier.”

Diallo believes in his luck

Like his two opponents, Idriss Diallo believes in his luck. The businessman can also take advantage of the significant support of several clubs, but also of the referees. Unlike Diabate, he does not rely on a strong commitment from the state. “The state can’t do everything. It organizes the AFCON in 2023. If I am elected, I can assure the Ivorian clubs that a whole pool of economic partners will join us. We will renegotiate the TV rights. My plan is realistic. I want to increase the budget of the FIF, by increasing it from 6 to 9 billion CFA francs. I could say that I will triple it, or even more, I have ambitious but reasonable goals. I advocate transparent and sound management.”

The former vice-president of the FIF under the reign of  Jacques Anouma, to  whom he remained close, wants to “establish a minimum wage for professional players, relaunch competitions for young people who have been at a standstill for years, an aberration in a country like Ivory COast, a veritable breeding ground for talent. If I am elected, I would reach out to Drogba and Diabate, I would quickly convene a seminar with the actors of Ivorian football, and I would invite Jean-Michel Aulas, the president of Olympique Lyonnais, who is a reference in the field good management.”

One thing is certain, whoever the lucky winner is, his first challenge will be to find a national manager very quickly, since the contract of Frenchman Patrice Beaumelle, which expired on April 6 and was not extended.