Andre Onana, the goalkeeper for Manchester United, has been recognised with the FIFPRO Impact Award for humanitarian efforts for the medical assistance his foundation offers to impoverished communities in Cameroon and other Sub-Saharan African nations.

Over the last three years, doctors have worked with the 28-year-old’s Andre Onana Foundation, which collaborates with medical professionals to give surgery and care for individuals, especially children, to complete more than 1,200 surgical procedures.
Players that give back to their communities are recognised with this award as part of FIFPRO’s Annual Merit Awards. Ten thousand dollars will be given to Onana’s foundation by the global football players’ union.

“I had people that assisted me on my journey from Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Milan to Manchester United. “When I was down, they helped me get up,” Cameroonian Onana told FIFPRO. “I’ve never forgotten the aid I received.

“Because of the people in the past who supported me, I feel I have a responsibility to give back and help others.”

Onana stated that the foundation was founded with the intention of aiding blind children in Cameroon, but it has now expanded to become an NGO that sends surgeons and physicians, mostly from Spain, to Africa to perform operations.

When schools were closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marcus Rashford, Onana’s United teammate, got the award in 2020 for his efforts to keep providing free school meals to underprivileged kids in the UK.

As a result of her advocacy for human rights problems like democracy, equality, and racism, Finland international Linda Sallstrom was awarded the FIFPRO Player Activism Award. She confronted supporters in Gothenburg, Sweden, in March after they allegedly used derogatory language towards her and her teammates.
Ga-Ae Kang, a former South Korean goalie, was recognised as the Player Voice for spearheading initiatives by Korean football players and the KPFA, the nation’s player association, to enhance working conditions for female players and increase awareness of the Women’s K League.