Nwankwo Kanu: ‘Trophies are good but saving somebody who could die, giving them hope of life, it means a lot to me’

Nwankwo Kanu is stepping into a car on a quiet London street, heading to his next appointment, when a man with long dreadlocks pokes his head through the open door and stares wide eyed at the former Arsenal striker. “Are you Kanu?”

After an emotional embrace and a selfie, the man gathers himself to explain how much Kanu means to him. It is 14 years since he left Arsenal, but for many fans the sight of the Nigerian gliding across the Highbury pitch with the ball glued to his foot left an indelible mark.

Now Kanu is putting his popularity to another use. Since retirement in 2012 he has devoted most of his time to the Kanu Heart Foundation in Nigeria, and he has organised a one-off charity match between former Premier League stars and African legends in London next month to raise money to build a new cardiac centre in the capital, Abuja.

It is a cause close to Kanu’s own heart. On joining Inter Milan in 1996 doctors discovered a serious condition and flew him to America for surgery to replace an aortic valve, which ruled him out for nearly a year. “Thank god I was able to play football again, to start winning trophies,” he says. “But I had these big thoughts about Africa, about the kids there. Life is difficult in Africa, even getting three square meals. How are they going to get money for check-ups, or pay for operations? It is expensive.”

After moving to Arsenal in 1999 he decided to setup the Kanu Heart Foundation, building five hospitals across Africa which have given life-changing treatment to more than 500 children – with another 200 on the waiting list. “That’s why this match is so important,” he stresses. “Because the more you don’t delay, the more we can raise, the more we can help them. The heart is not something you can keep waiting. We have to act fast.”

Kanu has secured the appearance of former Arsenal team-mates Sol Campbell, Robert Pires and Lauren for the exhibition game and conversation soon turns to the man who brought them all together, and retired this summer after 22 years in charge, Arsene Wenger.

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“He’s somebody who I respect, who I’m grateful to,” Kanu says of Wenger. “When I joined Arsenal people were asking: ‘Can he still do it?’ But Arsene believed in me. That’s why he followed me for six months before I joined. We have that relationship, I can pick up the phone, and he is one of the patrons of my foundation.

“Twenty-two years is a very long time. He has given everything to the club. Time will tell if we miss him or not. The new manager’s [Unai Emery] record speaks for itself. At PSG he did very well and won trophies. He’s positive, he believes he can achieve, that’s why he came. We have to give him time. If Arsenal win the league this season it’s a big thing – it’s achievable if the players are up for it – but if they finish second or third, that’s still a good season for us.”

Kanu is adored across West Africa as one of the first players from the region to star in the Premier League. African football has come a long way since then; with five teams at the recent World Cup in Russia, including Nigeria, this was expected to be a golden summer. Yet all five were eliminated in the group stage, and with legendary players like Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure and Samuel Eto’o reaching the end of their glittering club careers, it seems like a crossroads for the African game.

“It’s difficult to replace players like them,” Kanu says, “but of course in football players come and players go. It’s going to be wonderful if we can replace them, but nobody can be like them. You have good footballers coming out of Africa, West Africa, but they are not on the level that Eto’o played. Who knows, but as we talk right now, they have not been replaced.”

Have great African players got the recognition they deserve in Europe? Should a players like Toure have won the Ballon d’Or?

“That’s a difficult one. The Ballon d’Or is a big one, whoever wins it is a top, top, top player. For me, they are very great players but there were better ones than these. The people who voted made their decision. When I used to follow Romario of Brazil, if you had asked him then he’d have said he’s obviously the best in the world, and that he doesn’t care about the Ballon d’Or. To him he’s the best and that’s all that matters. I like that. It’s a positive vibe.”

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Positive vibes are very much the mission of his foundation, which aims to “put back smiles” on the faces of children it treats. Kanu is now preparing to dust off his boots for stints up front for both the Premier League legends and African all-stars – there are few players better suited to grace both sides – as he continues a project which began nearly 20 years ago.

“It’s going to be a tough game; the Premier League players want to win but the African legends that I talk to have said to me ‘we are going to destroy them!’ But the winners are going to be the kids. It’s very important to be happy with what you’re doing, and to me I’m very happy with what I’m doing because saving a life means a lot more than winning trophies. Trophies are good, but saving somebody who could die, giving them hope of a life, that means a lot to me.”

Kanu was speaking at the launch of Petrolex Kanu Cup 2018, the legends match raising funds for the Kanu Heart Foundation. Taking place at The Hive Stadium on Sunday September 30^th, the game will feature stars like Sol Campbell, Robert Pires and Kanu himself. To buy tickets click here.