R‘n’B songstress Christina Milian was in town at the weekend to support friend and Chelsea football legend Didier Drogba at a swanky event for his Didier Drogba Foundation.
Teammates John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Eden Hazard and Nemanje Matic attended the event at London’s Dorchester Hotel hours after helping to beat title rivals Manchester United to get one hand on the Barclays Premier League trophy.
Sarah Jane Crawford, presenter of ITV2’s behind-the-scenes X Factor spin-off, Xtra Factor, co-hosted the charity event, aimed at raising funds for impoverished children in Cote d’Ivoire, Drogba’s West African birthplace. Through funds raised, the Foundation is currently preparing to open a health clinic in Ivorian capital Abidjan later this year. The charity is also planning to set up a series of mobile clinics in remote villages across the country in the near future.
Referring to the Foundation’s aims, Drogba told the Chelsea FC website: “The clinic is nearly ready and now we are focusing on the equipment and staff to make sure we can be open and efficient as soon as possible.
“Because the project has evolved, and grown, we are now focusing on reaching more people, so building mobile clinics which can be easily maintained and run.
“That will make a big difference and means you can go to help people in remote villages with no other access to healthcare.”
The celebratory mood at the Mayfair bash, the fourth such event, was no doubt heightened by Chelsea’s result earlier in the day. Former Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, who was also a guest, had less reason to be pleased about Chelsea’s victory, since now even a win over the Blues next weekend is likely only to delay the inevitability that the Gunners will wind up bridesmaids to Chelsea’s bride. The Frenchman was however able to console himself with the fact that Arsenal had their own great result earlier – reaching a record 19th FA Cup final with a 2-1 defeat of plucky underdogs Reading.
