Didier Drogba denies claims of financial irregularities at his foundation to help sick African children

Drogba: The former Chelsea striker claims allegations against his charity foundation will jeopardise thousands of African children
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James Benge14 April 2016

Former Chelsea star Didier Drogba has denied claims of financial irregularities in his charity set up to help children in his Ivory Coast homeland.

Drogba has reacted angrily after a report on Thursday that alleged only 0.8 per cent of the £1.7million the charity has raised in the UK had been spent on good causes by the Didier Drogba Foundation.

The foundation was set up to build hospitals and educate impoverished people in the West African country.

The report further alleges that a high-profile charity ball arranged by the charity in 2010 and attended by the likes of David Beckham, Pele and Roger Federer made a loss of more than £70,000.

The Charity Commission has confirmed it is contacting the foundation "to seek an urgent response".

But in a statement released on his Twitter page, Drogba denied the allegations, saying: “Despite sending legal letters and 67 pages worth of documents advising the Daily Mail that their information was factually incorrect and libellous, they have decided to ignore the facts so I am issuing legal proceedings against them today.

“The Daily Mail by such irresponsible journalism are jeopardizing the lives of many thousands of African children. The effect on these kids in need of healthcare and education is unimaginable.

“They have already caused an untold amount of damage by contacting all of my sponsors, my colleagues, and many of my friends who generously helped the Foundation with donations, and put doubts in their mind about whether to continue to support us in the future.”

David Holdsworth, the chief operating officer at the Charity Commission, said: “The commission has serious regulatory concerns about a number of compliance issues raised and have contacted the charity to seek an urgent response.

"In particular, the commission has concerns about the administration of the charity and the oversight provided by trustees, all of whom appear to live abroad, as well as allegations that the charity has provided misleading information to donors and the public.

"Further, the charity has raised and accumulated significant sums of money that have not yet been spent and further information is required over the plans to spend those funds.

"All these issues merit further investigation by the commission."

Didier Drogba Foundation

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Drogba also hit back at a claim that the foundation had only built one of the five clinics it claimed to be investing in.

He said: “The £1.7 million from UK fundraising will be used to make the main clinic fully operational, including medical equipment, staff, medicine and running costs.

“Their attempts to destroy the work of the foundation will not deter me and will not stop me continuing the work we have begun.”

A spokesman for the Mail said: “The Daily Mail stands by every word of this important story which was the result of long and painstaking research by our award-winning investigative team and which has prompted an investigation by the Charity Commission.

“The documents provided to us by the Didier Drogba Foundation failed to address the very serious questions posed by our journalists.

“Despite numerous requests for a comment on the record, no substantive response was provided.

“Our article does not make allegations of fraud or corruption.”

Ex-Ivory Coast international Drogba, who scored 164 goals from 381 games for Chelsea over two spells at the club between 2004 and 2015, is currently plying his trade in Canada, where he plays for MLS franchise the Montreal Impact.

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