Transcript

Voice 1

Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Nick Page.

Voice 2

And I'm Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is
easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1

It was the last day of the football season. All eyes were on two teams. In two hours one
of them would be football champions of England. One team was Manchester United.
The other team was Chelsea. They were playing in separate games that day - but the
results of the two games would decide which team would be champions.

Voice 2

However, two of the players were hoping for another prize. These two men wanted to
win the prize for scoring the most goals in the 2010 football season. Wayne Rooney
plays for Manchester United. He had scored 26 goals. Didier Drogba plays for Chelsea.
He had also scored 26 goals. The big question was, "Could either of them score today"?

Voice 1

We move forward in time. It is the end of the afternoon. At Manchester, Wayne Rooney
has already left the football field. He did not finish the game. He injured his leg. He did
not score any goals. At Chelsea, Didier Drogba has scored three goals to help his team
to become England's champions. He has also won the Golden Boot Award for being the
top goalscorer in England for the year 2010.

Voice 2

We move forward another six days. Chelsea have just played in a big game at Wembley
Stadium in London. It is the FA Cup Final – one of the biggest events in English
football. At the end of the game, only one goal has been scored.

That one goal has won the cup for Chelsea. It was scored by Didier Drogba.

Voice 1

That same week, at the World Football Gala awards in London, Didier Drogba was
chosen as the Best Striker in the World - that is, the best goal-scorer. It is an exciting
year for this West African footballer. But his best day is still to come. For at this
moment, a new hospital is being built in Drogba's home town of Abidjan on the Ivory
Coast. The money for the hospital is coming from the Didier Drogba Foundation. The
footballer has already given 4.5 million dollars of his own money to help pay for this
project. The hospital will also offer a home for children who have no living parents.

Voice 2

Drogba is a rich footballer who lives in London. Why is he giving so much of his
money to help poor people in West Africa? For the answer, we have to go back a few
years. Didier Drogba visited a friend in hospital in Abidjan. The poor conditions in the
hospital made Drogba very sad. He wanted to do something to help. He says:

Voice 3

"I do not forget where I come from. I have been given the chance to succeed in life, but
I often think about the people who did not have this chance. We all need to do what we
can to defeat poverty... We hear about all the diseases that cannot be cured, but young
people are just as likely to die because they do not have the right medicines... I decided
the Didier Drogba Foundation's first project should be to build and fund a hospital to
give people basic healthcare and a chance just to stay alive... Women dying while
giving birth in the 21st century should not happen. But there are still too many today,
particularly on the African continent."

Voice 1

Didier Drogba worked hard to be a great footballer. He is recognised as Africa's number

one player. He is captain of his country's football team and is the best goal-scorer ever
to play for the Ivory Coast. Many people say that Drogba has used his fame to help
bring peace to his country. During the World Cup competition in 2006 the Ivory Coast
qualified, but the nation was torn by war. Didier Drogba made a request to both sides to
stop fighting. His request was answered with a ceasefire. Five years of civil war came to
an end.

Voice 2

Didier Drogba wants to help the poorer women and children of his country. In 2007, he
became a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. This means he will help to fight
poverty. He set up the Didier Drogba Foundation and bought some land in the town
where he was born. Friends and businesses have helped him to raise the millions of
dollars needed to build the new hospital on this land. The new hospital is only one of
the things Didier Drogba wants to do. He hopes his Foundation will provide help in
other places too, giving better health and schools for the poor, especially women and
children. Often, they are the ones who struggle the most. He says:

Voice 3

"The children's education is a very important matter to me, as much as their health."

Voice 2

He also wants to see men treat women and girls with more respect. He says:

Voice 3
"Women should be seen as equal to men... As an example to many young boys in Africa
I will do my best to change the way they think and act towards girls and women."

Voice 1

Many people who watch Didier Drogba on the football field say that he cheats. They
say that he falls over and pretends to be hurt. He argues with the referee. He has been
sent off the football field for hurting another player. He even argues with his own team
during games. Some people say he is not a good example to young boys wanting to be
good sportsmen. But, he has much respect from other members of his team. And away
from the football field Didier Drogba is doing much to change the lives of poor women
and children far away in his West African homeland.

Voice 2

Ivory Coast played in the FIFA World Cup in South Africa this summer. But their most
famous player and captain broke his arm in a friendly game soon before the big event!
His arm was injured, yet he still played in the World Cup! Ivory Coast did not win the
Cup. However, their most famous footballer will be giving his country something worth
much more than a football prize. His new hospital will help to bring good healthcare to
thousands of people for many years.

Voice 1

The writer of today's programme was Alan Harris. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The
voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe. All quotations were
adapted and voiced by Spotlight. Computer users can read our scripts, hear our
programs and see our word list on our website: www.radioenglish.net. This programme
is called "Drogba Scores a Goal".

You are welcome to write to us with questions and comments about Spotlight. Our
email address is radio@radioenglish.net. You can also leave comments on our website.

Voice 2

From all of us at Spotlight, goodbye.

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