He's becoming a firm West Ham favourite out in east London - as a fearless, world-class defender with a true, nowadays, rare sense of appreciation and loyalty in professional football; as emphasised by his recent snub of big boys Liverpool to become a permanent Hammer (at least for four years). Herita Ilunga, 27, has already scored a lot of the golden goals that those back home, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, could only dream about - in being a multi-million earning player delivering crunching tackles for both Premiership club and country.

Yet despite these dizzy heights, Ilunga doesn't seem to have lost sight of his grass-roots. This is illustrated by his recent work with Congo Now! - a week of London based awareness-raising events set up by multiple injustice-combating organisations to draw attention to the crisis in Congo (an ongoing African conflict which has slipped from the headlines, but not from memory in recent months). Ctrl.Alt.Shift reps Dwain Lucktung and Mervin Martin hunted down the man to get his thoughts on the matter, as he kick-started this year's Congo Now! campaign with a photo-shoot at the Houses of Parliament. In between camera flashes, we discussed DR Congo, talked about his work on and off the pitch, and questioned the money-obsessed sport that was once the beautiful game...

How do you feel representing your country on the pitch?
I am very proud, of course. But it's a shame because we had the opportunity to represent our country (in the World Cup) after 30 years of absence - in fact we were first throughout much of the first-round qualification part - but at the end we lost the last two games (against Malawi and Egypt) and we ended up third. So it was disappointing.

Can an African nation finally win the World Cup in 2010?
I think that an African can possibly win the World Cup if the team is well motivated and eager to win - but it remains a difficult challenge. But we'll support any African country that appears in the tournament.

What are your thoughts on the Homeless World Cup (HWO) in Milan later this year? (The HWO is an annual football tournament, a project giving over 25,000 homeless people - coming from across 60 different nations - the chance to rep their country on the pitch).
I agree with what they're doing, and I am willing to help any operations concerned with helping and promoting countries, and people in bad situations. The most important thing is the organisation - it has to be well organised and everybody has to be united and work towards the same goal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tell me more about your work with Congo Now!...
The project is to sensitise everyone with what is going on in the Eastern part of the country and also in the rest of Congo; to mobilise all nations, the international community, so that Congo stays in the limelight. And hopefully others may realise that they have an important role to play in stopping what is going on over there; in turn helping the war victims, the innocent people who are in the middle of the conflict.

Can football change the lives of underprivileged individuals?
Yes, it is a way out for them. But I think that the most important thing in any country is education - even if they succeed through sport and any other activities, the priority, I repeat, is education.

Do you think too much money is thrown about in football when the multi-millions could possibly go towards a better cause?
Yes, it's true that in football there are huge amounts of money involved. It can be unfair considering other people's lives, but what we should not forget is that the average football player has a 10-year career, and as the football clubs are earning a lot of money, it's only normal that they give the money back to the football players. But overall, the most important thing is for us to all do our bit, and work together to help people.

Do you think top-earning stars hailing from developing countries could do more to help their home nations, as you are doing?
I do encourage people to do more. And I know a lot of footballers in the Premiership who do charity work and give money back to organisations they believe in - not everybody hears about it though. But as many say, we don't do enough.

Would you consider being an ambassador for Ctrl.Alt.Shift?
At the moment I am focusing on working with Congo NOW!, in the future I will consider being an ambassador for Ctrl.Alt.Shift. The most important thing is that I am an ambassador for my own country, and I support any organisation with good willing people who do a lot for humanity, to raise awareness and help persons in need. Having said that, I must concentrate on Congo Now! - but I will think about that (Ctrl) later.

Final words of wisdom?
Reunite people and denounce people with bad intentions - make sure that they are punished and that peace wins.

Congo Now! events will be running throughout this week. For more information please visit www.congonow.org

PR for Herita Ilunga:

The Milan 2009 Homeless World Cup will take place from 6-13 September later this year. For more information please visit www.homeslessworldcup.org