Sierra Leonean-German defender and Chelsea defender Antonio Rüdiger is off to Sierra Leone for a visit, and most importantly to launch The Antonio Rüdiger Foundation For Sierra Leone.
Every child has dreams, but not all have the opportunity to pursue them – I want to change that!
Antonio Rüdiger
Rüdiger is known for the love and generosity he has for Sierra Leone. A few days ago, the Chelsea star man, in partnership with BigShoe funded life-changing surgeries for eleven children with club feet in Lunsar, Sierra Leone. He also sent each child a Chelsea jersey with his name on the back. The Chelsea defender has been directly involved in charity activities in Sierra Leone, his ”second home”.
Rüdiger’s mother, Lily, is originally from Sierra Leone but fled the West African country in 1991 during the rebel war. His mother gave birth to him in Germany after fleeing the civil war. Since knowing his roots, Rudiger has been paying tribute to Sierra Leone and has expressed his delight that he was able to give back to the country he called his “second home”.
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 29-year-old Chelsea defender, In January last year, bought 60,000 facemasks for market traders in Sierra Leone and also donated the sum of $100,000 to the country’s Free Quality Education initiative.
Through football, I have been given the opportunity to help others and make the lives of these children and their families better. Seeing the children smiling in the photos also makes me happy. I am very connected to my second home. We have more projects planned. My first visit to Sierra Leone five years ago taught me above all that everything that we supposedly call a ‘problem’ here in Europe is not really a problem at all
Antonio Rüdiger
