Former French international and FIFA Foundation Director Youri Djorkaeff, Cameroon icon Geremi Njitap, Italian idol Alessandro Del Piero and former Moroccan attacking midfielder Houssine Kharja brightened up the atmosphere at the Robert Debré University Hospital in Paris, where the four FIFA legends came to meet some of its young patients.
The visit to Paris comes on the sidelines of The Best FIFA Football Awards™ 2022, which will be held today in the French capital and where tributes will be paid to last year’s outstanding players.
The four former champions once again brought smiles and joy to their young audience. They first took time to meet some 20 children in individual rooms in the cardiology, nephrology and gastrology departments, before moving to a common room where some 20 patients from the child psychiatry department were waiting for them.
“It was a very nice evening and a very nice initiative. For us, we must come and encourage all these children who are suffering. The most important thing is to put a smile on their faces,” says Cameroonian Geremi Njitap, two-time winner of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations with the Indomitable Lions, who also insists on supporting the people who accompany the sick children.
“Let’s also encourage the parents, who are close to them, who live with them every day, but also the doctors. We can also give them a little bit of a smile,” added the two-time UEFA Champions League winner with Real Madrid, who loved talking about what he knows best.
“I liked the questions from these kids. We saw that they are interested, that they love football, even if they don’t know some of us, but more the new generation, which is quite normal,” he admitted with a smile. “I was very happy to be part of this great initiative.”
“It was a day full of emotions,” said Youri Djorkaeff, who shared his memories of winning the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
“We came to visit the children and their parents, but also the doctors and the nurses. We spent a moment with them to bring a smile to their faces, and tell them football stories that we know well.”
“It was a very touching moment today,” confirms Del Piero, who also won the world trophy in 2006 with the Nazionale.
Courtesy of this meeting, the children at the Robert Debré Hospital were able to forget, at least for a while, their daily battle against the disease. But they will not forget the attention and availability of their idols.
