Sadio Mane has been awarded France Football’s inaugural Socrates Award in recognition of his charitable work in Senegal.
In recent years, the Bayern Munich forward has built a public hospital and funded schools and families in his home village of Bambali, as well as donated to the Senegalese National Committee to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic in his country.
“I’m thrilled to be a guest tonight,” Mane said. “Sometimes I’m a little shy, but I’m always eager to do what I can to help my people.”
The Socrates Prize is a humanitarian award that serves as a reminder to the players that they are in a unique position to help make the world a better place.
The award is named after the late footballer Socrates, who co-founded the Corinthians Democracy movement in 1980s Brazil in opposition to the ruling military government.