Lent.az
In 2005, after the Ivory Coast team qualified for the World Cup in Germany, Didier Drogba made an impactful speech urging his country's people to unite, end the violence, and hold fair elections.
According to Lent.az, citing foreign media, a civil war was ongoing in the country at the time.
"Ivorian men and women, from the north, south, center, and west. Today we proved to you that all of Ivory Coast can coexist for one goal: to qualify for the World Cup. You promised that this celebration would unite the people. Today, we beg you on our knees. Forgive, forgive, forgive.
We are the only country in Africa with all this wealth, we can't go into a war like this. Please, lay down all your weapons, organize elections, everything will be better. We want to have fun."
A ceasefire was declared a week later. Drogba's speech is considered one of the turning points that united people and ended a conflict that had claimed the lives of 1,000-4,000 people until then.
