Senegal’s World Cup hero Kalidou Koulibaly, who scored the winning goal vs Ecuador to lead his country to the round of 16, knows well about life’s struggles.
Born in France to African parents who migrated from Senegal, he went through the kind of challenges faced by the less privileged.
With these feelings, tales of Koulibaly’s generosity has always spread across social media, with one tale revealing how he personally handed out coats to the homeless in winter, The US Sun reported.
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Another tale revealed how he gave a £500 note to a stray boy he met at a supermarket car park.
In 2019, when a 12-year-old boy from Senegal was flown to Naples for reconstructive surgery after suffering terrible burns, Koulibaly made sure he was at the hospital to see him through.
As a proud Muslim, his acts of kindness have always been praised, as he uses his hard-earned salary to help others.
In honor of his charity work, Arci Mediterraneo, a charity which works to help migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in Naples, saluted the local hero, along with his former team-mate Fauzi Ghulam, with the Social Impact Award.
After inspecting the charity’s facilities, Koulibaly’s first act was to donate training tops, balls and bags.
When Senegal needed a hero, Kalidou Koulibaly delivered 🦸♂️ pic.twitter.com/OysxM8nsna
— GOAL (@goal) November 29, 2022
Never forgot his roots
Though born in France, Koulibaly roots are firmly planted in Senegal, a country he represents internationally.
Back in 2021, he celebrated his 30th birthday by donating two ambulances and medical equipment to Senegal hospitals.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport via Football Italia, Koulibaly paid for a number of items shipped to Senegal from the port of Naples.
These items included two ambulances, hospital gowns, stretchers, personal protective equipment and thousands of protective masks.
One messaged on Twitter: “We are proud of you. I love people who never forget their origin and culture.”
Another remarked: “You are a great man, a great player. Your heart is huge.”
Lions of the Teranga will face England on Sunday on the ticket to round 8.
Senegal seeks to repeat 2002 success when they qualified for the quarterfinals in their first debut in World Cup.
Koulibaly isn’t the only generous Muslim footballer.
Sadio Mane, another Senegalese Muslim forward, has won plaudits from fans all over the world for being super humble.
Mane was filmed cleaning the bathroom and wudu [ablution] area in a Liverpool mosque in September 2018. He also donated 300 Liverpool shirts to the small Senegalese village of Bambali.
Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa announced plans to sponsor 100 students at a university in the Nigerian city of Kano in November 2019.
Mali Muslim football legend Frederic Kanoute has also raised funds in his bid to help build Seville first purpose-built mosque in 700 years.