How Didier Drogba lost the Ivorian FA Presidential elections

Chelsea and Ivory Coast legend Didier Drogba failed in his bid to become the President of the Ivorian Football Federation.

The popular former footballer came last among the three contestants in Saturday's elections and did not go past the first round.

Ace Ivorian sports journalist, Mamadou Gaye, has explained why Didier Drogba lost the Ivory Coast Football Association elections.

Drogba defeat came as a surprise to football fanatics but the Ivorian journalist who is not too surprise says he rejected football clubs from his village and the association of Ivorian football players.

“This the guy who never lived in Cote d’Ivoire in all those years. He just comes and plays and goes back to France,” Gaye began.

“Most of the other African players like Eto’o and Sadio Mane understand what the African culture means. They did a lot for their villages; they left a legacy in their villages.

“The first team to come out publicly to say they will not be voting for Didier Drogba, was a club from his village.

“Then the Professional Footballers Association of Cote d’Ivoire, which Drogba help to form, also turned their back on him.

“Now, if your football family and your physical family both reject you, by what miracle are you going to win?” he quizzed.

According to Saturday’s results , the two-time African Player of the Year finished third behind Yacine Idriss Diallo and Sory Diabate.

While Diallo accrued 59 votes, Diabate secured 51 votes with the 44-year-old finishing a distant third after polling 21 votes.

Former Chelsea striker Drogba, named in the Premier League's Hall of Fame this week, was ousted in the first round of voting with just under a fifth of the vote.

In the second round, Diallo, a businessman and current FIF executive member, squeezed out former FIF vice-president Sory Diabaté by 63 votes to 61.