Didier Drogba Chelsea and Ivory Coast legend has been cleared to stand in the long-over due elections to be the next president of the Ivory Coast’s football federation (FIF).
Drogba who is among the six candidates, including outgoing vice president Idriss Diallo, who have been approved by the country’s Fifa-installed normalisation committee to stand in the polls on 23 April.
According to reports, The voting was initially scheduled to be carried out in September 2020 but has been repeatedly moved forward because of ongoing issues over the eligibility of certain candidates, including Didier Drogba.
“The candidacy for the presidency of the Ivorian football federation is closed,” Mariam Dao Gabala, president of the FIF normalisation committee, announced at a news conference.
“Six candidates have been registered. They are Yatte Ellele Jean-Baptiste, Arnaud Aka, Laurent Kouakou, Idriss Diallo, Sory Diabate and Didier Drogba,”
Didier Drogba who has featured more than 100 times for the Elephants, including at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, was told in August 2020 that he was not eligible to stand in the election.
But following prompt intervention from world governing body Fifa, the 44-year-old, who won 4 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups and the Champions League across two spells with Chelsea, retains his hopes of running the game in the West African country.
In line with the latest approval, the former BBC African Footballer of the Year officially re- submitted his forms on Monday and renewed his desire to change the face of the Ivorian game.