Rudiger, who has Sierra Leonean roots, has supported many causes in his second home. In 2020 alone, he donated $101,000 (£75,000) to support free quality education.
Germany’s Antonio Rudiger has agreed to donate a portion of his World Cup winnings to help Sierra Leonean children receive life-saving surgeries, the Real Madrid defender announced on Monday.
With the World Cup approaching, Rudiger says his contributions to the BigShoe charity is a “matter of honor” and that he would “like to implement many more projects in Sierra Leone.”
The former Chelsea defender, who established The Antonio Rudiger Foundation For Sierra Leone in January, has long helped fund procedures to help financially disadvantaged children in his second home.
The young children are from Lunsar, a town in Sierra Leone, where Rudiger’s mother is from.
The children suffer from congenital clubfoot, a birth defect that affects about one to four of every 1,000 babies globally.
This issue has a significant impact on children’s lives since the disability is socially stigmatised in Sierra Leone.
Patients sometimes have to use crutches for the rest of their lives, but they also become socially isolated, face bullying at school, and have little chance of finding work and leading a normal life afterward.
“It hurts to see the circumstances in which children in Sierra Leone are growing up,” explained Rudiger, who is happy when he receives the news that the operations have gone well.
“During surgery, the misalignment is corrected before the patients are finally able to walk and participate in social life, after several months of follow-up treatment,” he added.
The former Chelsea defender is preparing for Germany’s World Cup campaign that will see his team face Costa Rica, Japan and Spain in the group stage.
Although Rudiger is currently recovering from an injury, Germany’s coach confirmed he will be fit in time for their first game against Japan on November 23.
Germany, four-time World Cup champions, was the first country to secure its spot out of 32 other nations at the World Cup, the first to ever take place in the Middle East.
