Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana has been given the FIFPRO Player Impact Award for his humanitarian efforts in his native Cameroon and across the African continent.
Thank you for this recognition of the outstanding work carried out by the #AndreOnanaFoundation to improve our community. Our commitment remains steadfast. We will continue working together. ❤️💪🏾 https://t.co/IKNaPhijkM
— Andre Onana (@AndreyOnana) November 26, 2024
The United man’s charity, the Andre Onana Foundation, provides free medical care and high-quality surgeries to underprivileged communities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
It’s believed that doctors have performed more than 1,200 operations over the past three years.
Reacting to being handed the accolade, Onana said [via The Mirror], “When I passed through Barcelona, Amsterdam and Milan on my way to Manchester United, I had people who helped me on that journey.”
“When I was down, they gave me a hand so that I could stand up. I’ve never forgotten the help I received. Because of the people in the past who supported me, I feel I have a responsibility to give back and help others.”
“When I started the Andre Onana Foundation, the idea was to help blind children in Cameroon. We received a lot of support and it’s since grown to become an NGO that provides free medical care and surgeries to children and adults from underprivileged communities.”
The 28-year-old added, “We bring doctors and surgeons, mostly from Spain, to perform the procedures in Africa.”
“In July this year, we had our fourth surgical campaign where a delegation of Spanish health professionals – from nurses to paediatric surgeons – helped over 350 people in Yaounde, Cameroon’s capital.”
“I want to thank FIFPRO and the Cameroonian player union Synafoc; this big donation is very welcome, and our team already have plans in place to do some nice things for the kids, hopefully in cooperation with UNICEF.”
“As for the future of the Andre Onana Foundation, we have a lot of things ahead. We’re in conversation with the United Nations to do a collaboration and our main priority going forward is to impact as many people as we can in the world.”
Onana becomes the second United player to collect the award, after teammate Marcus Rashford.
Rashford also won it in 2020 following his campaign for free school meals for disadvantaged children in the UK.
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
