Andre Onana not only has a lot of character, but he has lot of heart also.
The Manchester United goalkeeper has won the FIFPRO Player Impact Award for his inspirational off-pitch endeavours.
The 28-year-old has long given to charities, but his Andre Onana Foundation provides free medical care and high-quality surgeries to underprivileged communities in Cameroon, as well as other sub-Saharan African countries.
These collaborations involve groups of surgeons and medical professionals who each year provide life-changing surgery and care to hundreds of people in need, including children.
Onana gives something back to the people from his position of privilege. Doctors involved with his incredible foundation have performed over 1,200 surgical operations over the last three years and that number is rising.
This award comes at a time when Onana is performing strongly on the pitch, for which he deserves recognition for too.
Reacting to his award from FIFPRO, Onana wrote (via ManUtd.com): “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.
“When I started the Andre Onana Foundation, the idea was to help blind children in Cameroon. We received a lot of support and it’s since grown to become an NGO that provides free medical care and surgeries to children and adults from underprivileged communities.
“We bring doctors and surgeons, mostly from Spain, to perform the procedures in Africa. In July this year, we had our fourth surgical campaign where a delegation of Spanish health professionals – from nurses to paediatric surgeons – helped over 350 people in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital.”
The FIFPRO Impact Award was previously won by a United player in 2020, when Marcus Rashford led a campaign that ensured disadvantaged children in the UK would receive free school meals when schools were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result, the Andre Onana Foundation will receive a $10,000 donation from FIFPRO.
Onana added: “I want to thank FIFPRO and the Cameroonian player union Synafoc; this big donation is very welcome, and our team already have plans in place to do some nice things for the kids, hopefully in cooperation with UNICEF.
“As for the future of the Andre Onana Foundation, we have a lot of things ahead. We’re in conversation with the United Nations to do a collaboration and our main priority going forward is to impact as many people as we can in the world.”
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