Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana has been honoured and awarded by FIFPRO, receiving the Impact Award for humanitarian work due to the medical care his foundation provides to sub-par communities in Cameroon and other Sub-Saharan countries in Africa.
More than 1,200 surgeries have been performed by doctors over the past three years in collaboration with the Andre Onana foundation, which works with medical personnels to provide care for people and also surgery, particularly children.
With the global soccer players’ union also donating $10,000 to Onana’s foundation, the honour is part of FIFPRO’s Annual Merit Awards that recognises players giving back to their communities.
“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,” Cameroonian Onana said on FIFPRO’s website.
Onana said the plan when he began the foundation was to aid blind children in Cameroon, but it has now grown to become an NGO, bringing doctors and surgeons, mainly from Spain, to Africa to perform procedures.
Onana’s Red Devils teammate Marcus Rashford was a recipient of the award in 2020 for his campaign to continue free school meals for disadvantaged children in the United Kingdom during the period schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Finland international Linda Sallstrom also won FIFPRO’s Player Activism Award for speaking out on human rights issues, such as racism, equality and democracy.
In March, she confronted fans in Gothenburg, Sweden who she said made misogynistic slurs against her and her teammates.
Former South Korea goalkeeper Ga-Ae Kang won the Player Voice award for leading efforts by Korean footballers and the country’s player union KPFA to improve employment conditions for female players and increase the visibility of the Women’s K League.
