Thursday 9 December 2010 13:16, UK
Bury's Efe Sodje is determined to give something back by building a sports centre for under-privileged children in Nigeria.
A 16-year career, with six different clubs and an appearance in the 2002 World Cup finals, Sodje has earned iconic status in West Africa. The veteran defender returns to his homeland Nigeria every summer with as much football equipment as he can physically take, including the boots of his Shakers team-mates. The 38-year-old told the Bury Times: "It is very rewarding and humbling when you realise people are looking up to you," said Sodje. "It makes you sit back and think 'wow I just want to do stuff for them - whether that is giving them a t-shirt or a pair of football boots. "Myself and my family have got together to create the Sodje Foundation and we are trying to build a big sports centre in Nigeria for the under-privileged kids out there. "We are trying to raise around £450,000 for it and so far we have raised about £8,000 through a gala dinner that we held a couple of months ago."
