Ivory Coast's Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has pledged to donate £3 million of his own money to build a state-of-the-art new hospital in the Ivory Coast. The donation comes from the lucrative fee he is set to receive for becoming the new face of US soft drinks giant Pepsi.

Drogba told the Daily Mirror: "Is a heart-warming gesture to those less fortunate than me."

The Abidjan-born 31-year-old striker is unsurprisingly an iconic figure in the Ivory Coast.

In January 2007, Drogba was appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a Goodwill Ambassador, who lauded the former Marseille ace's glowing charity work.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will also contribute a weighty donation to the Didier Drogba Foundation, launched in 2007 with aims to "build and fund a hospital giving people basic healthcare and a chance just to stay alive", according to Daily Mirror.

Source: Africa News