Zinédine Zidane was in Paris this morning. Not in a cozy office to discuss contracts. Not at the Parc des Princes to watch a match. No, the former number 10 of the Blues went to the 19th arrondissement, to Suzanne Lacore college, for a commitment that has been close to his heart for twenty-five years. A meeting far from the football spotlight, but just as important. Maybe even more.
A fight that goes beyond the field for Zidane
In front of around fifty fifth grade students, Zidane read the ELA Dictation, a text written this year by Valérie Perrin and entitled “The Forgotten One”. A moment of sharing and solidarity which marks the launch of the campaign “Put on your sneakers and beat the disease”mobilizing more than 580,000 students across France. The European Association against Leukodystrophies, which he has sponsored for a quarter of a century, fights against genetic diseases which destroy the myelin of the nervous system. Every week in France, three to six babies are born with these pathologies.
After the reading, the discussions began. The students asked their questions about the disease, about the families affected, about the role of the association. Zidane took the time to respond, to explain, to transmit. Far from the microphones and cameras, he was there to raise awareness of disability, respect for difference, and solidarity. Values ​​that he has always carried, long before becoming a football legend.
Twenty-five years of loyalty to ELA
Since 1999, Zinédine Zidane has stepped up her actions for ELA. Climb Mont-Blanc, skydive, read dictations in classes, host auctions. It highlights largely forgotten diseases and carries the voice of patients in all areas. The association, recognized as being of public utility since 1996, has financed 586 research programs for 50.5 million euros. The leading associative financier of leukodystrophies, ELA owes a lot to the reputation of its sponsor.
We expect Zidane on the sidelines, at the head of the French team or a major European club. But this morning, he was elsewhere. In a Parisian classroom, in front of kids who were discovering another side of man. The one that shows that football is not everything. That certain battles deserve to be engaged in, discreetly, faithfully, without calculation.
