Desailly Is UNICEF Envoy
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has appointed renowned footballer and former French Captain, Marcel Desailly, as its first Goodwill Ambassador for Ghanaian children.
At a ceremony in Accra yesterday, a representative of UNICEF in Ghana, Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, said the role of the Goodwill Ambassador was to advocate the best interest of Ghanaian children and also to serve as a role model for children in sports.
"As a Goodwill Ambassador, Marcel will participate in UNICEF-supported activities and campaigns to raise awareness on key issues and critical actions concerning children in Ghana," she explained.
She indicated that Mr Desailly was chosen based on three main attributes, which included excellence in his profession as a footballer, as one of Ghana's most popular and prestigious celebrities and also for showing commitment to support children in Ghana.
Desailly said, he would be committed to ensuring that education became a vital component of the game of football.
He said children who desired to be footballers should take their formal education seriously, indicating that "it is universally accepted that when children are educated they can have more opportunities to fulfil their potential".
He was optimistic that Ghana could achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on education through sports, explaining that this could be achieved by encouraging children to pursue education while helping them to develop and sharpen their skills professionally in the area of football.
He said many children who were interested in sports dropped out of school in order to fulfil their dreams, thinking that there was no need for education in sports.
“I want to defuse that notion and get them back to the classrooms and also promote their aspirations and not destroy them so that they will have a better future in life.”
“I went to the Northern Region to observe the situation of children, especially on education. Although I saw the difficult life that children often have in villages, I also saw how happily they are learning and engaging in sports”.
Desailly was born in Ghana but was adopted at age four and moved to France. He played for the French National team and won the 1998 World Cup and the Euro 2000 Cup among other achievements.
He retired from football in 2004 and has since committed himself to helping children realise their potentials.
Story by Maria Alberta Viala