Zidane to develop youth and health projects in Algeria

[Al-khiyal]

Zidane : “J’ai envie de faire certaines choses en Algérie”

Lundi 8 Septembre 2008 -- Il y a sans doute un peu de cœur mais aussi un peu de raison dans le souhait : la légende du football français Zinedine Zidane n’a pas caché son souhait de réaliser des projets en Algérie ; un pays d’où sont originaires ses parents et d’où il tire une certaine fierté. “Oui ; j’ai des projets là-bas” ; a-t-il dit hier lors d’une conférence de presse animée au Parc-des-Princes, l’antre du club fétiche de la capitale française, le PSG, un club dans lequel un joueur bien de chez nous en a fait les beaux jours, Mustapha Dahleb. “Zizou”, qui continue encore à faire chavirer le cœur de milliers de personnes à travers le monde, à susciter l’admiration des enfants et à provoquer des bousculades à chacun de ses passages, n’a pas précisé pour autant ni la nature ni la manière dont seront réalisés les projets. “C’est très tôt de dire de quelle manière ; mais j’ai envie de faire certaines choses là-bas”, a indiqué le néo-retraité du football français. De son voyage effectué en décembre 2006 en Algérie, quelques mois seulement après la défaite en finale de la Coupe du monde face à l’Italie et le célèbre coup de boule qui a suscité bien des commentaires à travers le monde, il en garde d’excellents souvenirs et se dit “très fier”. “J’étais très fier de faire ce voyage juste après ma retraite. Je voulais le faire depuis longtemps. Ça m’a permis de voir beaucoup de gens et je suis très fier de l’avoir fait avec mes parents.” Parrain de l’association européenne contre les leucodystrophies ELA, une maladie qui touche les enfants, Zidane était présent hier à Paris pour donner le coup d’envoi de la grande finale de la Danone Nations Cup, une compétition organisée par le groupe Danone au profit des enfants du monde entier. Une quarantaine d’équipes, dont l’Algérie représentée par des benjamins de Tizi Ouzou, y participent. “Quand vous avez des enfants, vous ne pouvez pas être égoïstes… Je partage les mêmes valeurs que Danone”, a affirmé Zidane comme pour répondre à la raison qui le motive pour défendre cette cause des enfants et les valeurs que véhicule le football. Par ailleurs, à la question de pronostiquer sur le future meilleur joueur Fifa, Zizou a estimé que le Portugais Cristiano Ronaldo est bien placé pour s’adjuger la première place. À noter que la finale de la Danone Nations Cup a été remportée par les Bleus. Quant à l’Algérie, elle a terminé à une honorable 8e place.

[Al-khiyal]

Zidane to develop sports projects in Algeria

September 8, 2008 -- French-Algerian football legend Zinedine Zidane plans to invest in Algeria in sports and charity projects, local and international press reported Sunday (September 7th). Speaking at a press conference in Paris to promote a children's charity event, the Danone Nations Cup, Zidane said he was "very proud" to travel with his parents to visit their homeland in 2006 and will seize any opportunity to come back to Algeria.

[Al-khiyal]

Zidane to launch youth, health projects in Algeria

September 12, 2008 -- In a philanthropic turn, retired French football star Zinedine Zidane plans to launch a series of programmes to benefit children in his ancestral home of Algeria. The three-time FIFA World Player of the Year spoke to the press about his intentions on Sunday (September 7th) at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, during the international final of the Danone Nations Cup.

Zidane – currently serving as Danone's ambassador for children's programmes – said the projects concerned are many, but did not go into details. "It's too early to say how, but there are many projects I would like to get going. I've a real desire to do something down there," he said.

The footballer, born in France to Kabyle parents, has never made a secret of his feelings for the country of his heritage, which he visited with great ceremony in December 2006. During the five-day visit he went to his parents' village of Aguemoune (Bejaïa) and visited victims of the 2003 earthquake in Boumerdès.

The affection shown towards Zidane by Algerians left a mark on him. He talked about it again at the Parc des Princes. "I'm very proud to have gone on that journey," he said, "because I'd wanted to do it for a long time, and I did it straight after the end of my career."

"What I'm proudest of is that I did it with my parents and my family. I met people and family members I hadn't seen for a very long time. That was the purpose of the journey," he concluded. The mayor of Boukhelifa - the commune which includes Zidane's parents' village - hinted that the new projects will improve sports and health infrastructure.

According to locals, young people have been dying for another opportunity to see the former number ten since his visit in 2006, when most were unable to get close enough to meet him. According to Meziane Arezki, who hails from Bejaïa and works in Algiers, young people cherish their dream of playing a symbolic game with him on the football field, as he did in Bangladesh, pictures of which were shown on television.

According to the Algerian sporting press, these projects will also involve the earthquake-ravaged area of Boumerdès which the former French team captain visited. He was also keen to see with his own eyes how the assistance package put together by the Fondation de France, of which he is a member, and consisting of health and children’s projects, had taken shape when he visited the sites. These concerned a school cafeteria, a children’s hospital, a health centre, a centre to analyse and provide care for children with special needs, and an emergency social care centre.

These support projects were punctuated by a match played on October 6th, 2003 between the "France 1998" team and Olympique de Marseille; the game raised 935,000 euros, which were then paid into financing these projects.

Zidane was to return to Algeria in the spring of 2007, but his plans were cancelled. This was likely due to the poor security situation gripping Algeria and Kabylia in particular, explained Boualem, a worker at the Algerian National Bank.