Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez has funded the building of two artificial football pitches in his hometown of Tocopilla. The Chilean forward left his home country a decade ago, moving initially to Italian side Udinese. However, the 27-year-old has never forgotten his roots, with a couple of brand new state of the art 3G pitches his latest philanthropic project.
Speaking on Arsenal TV, the winger said:
I built two football pitches because I wanted young kids to have a decent pitch to play on, because I didn’t have one when I was younger. I’m lucky because I’ve had the opportunity to leave the country and play football, but it’s a small town and opportunities are not common.
People can end up going down the wrong path with alcohol and drugs, and that’s bad news for kids. When I’m there I try to set up events where I play with the kids and try to boost them. Every time I go I try to set up events and get gifts just to see the smiles on small children’s faces.
I honestly believe that children are the most important thing in the world. They learn from adults and it’s very important to be good role models.
As well as paying for the pitches, Sanchez also regularly organises local events and hands out gifts to children whenever he home in Tocopilla. What a thoroughly decent chap!
During the international break, Sanchez and suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Argentina in the World Cup qualifiers, before the Gunners’ star shone for La Roja in their 4-1 win in Venezuela.