Didier Drogba will know his fate on Thursday when the election commission of the Ivory Coast football federation will announce the names of candidates approved to run for the body’s presidency on September 5.
The 42-year-old former Chelsea striker submitted his candidacy for the race on Saturday flanked by hundreds of excited fans, but his bid could face rejection for failing to secure an endorsement from any of the five interest groups affiliated to the FA, which is a sine qua non for eligibility.
His father Albert Drogba has refuted reports that his son would join forces with any of the approved candidates and work together.
“If Didier’s candidacy is rejected he would simply quit the scene. If Ivory Coast refuses my son he will go and prove himself elsewhere. If he is not elected he will depart and that is it. There will be no merging with another candidate,” he said.
“In every election, there is a loser and a winner. If Didier loses we will accept it but it has to be a legitimate loss and not a fraudulent one.”
Many Ivorians feel there exists a plot to thwart Drogba’s ambition to “reform” the country’s football due to a cold rapport between him and the incumbent FA officials.
