Chelsea forward Didier Drogba has been commended for his charity work in Africa by Barclays.

The 37 year-old striker, who scored in Chelsea's 3-1 win against Leicester on Wednesday, won the Spirit of the Game Award for his tireless charity work off the pitch.

Speaking in a video released by the Premier League sponsor, Drogba commented: “I come from a poor family where I played football in the streets with my friends with no shoes, there was no grass but we still enjoyed it. There is nothing better than when you see a kid with a smile on his face and that is why I’m trying to help. I want to do a lot of things in Africa, I want to give people the chance to dream, and it is easier to dream when you are in good health and happy.”

Drogba recently helped to raise £400,000 for the Didier Drogba Foundation at a charity ball attended by fellow footballers including; Petr Cech, Eden Hazard, Bransilav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, Juan Cuadrado, Nemanja Matic, Thierry Henry, Louis Saha, Edgar Davids, Jermaine Defoe and John Terry.

The money will be used to complete the medical clinic in Abidjan and help finance mobile clinics that will travel outside of the capital to those who are either to sick or poor to make the journey to the centre.

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