Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has offered free use of 50 properties to NHS staff who are battling the COVID-19 outbreak in central London hospitals.
The 27-year-old, who currently earns £130,000 per week, co-owns ZO Properties, which usually provides apartments to business travellers who want to stay in areas including Notting Hill, Shoreditch and Aldgate.
The Ivory Coast international is the latest football personality to offer a free bed, following in the footsteps of former Manchester United star Gary Neville and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic.
Zaha, who admits to having close friends working for the NHS, is eager to do his part in these troubling times by providing accommodation for the hard-pressed staff who could not return home after their shifts.
“If you do good, good will come to you,” said Zaha, per The Times. “It is clear that my intentions are that all I want to do is help at every opportunity, especially in the crazy period we are going through.
“Health workers please reach out. We have already had feedback; this is exactly what we wanted to achieve.”
His business partner Obi Williams went on to say they had already been in contact with staff members at two London hospitals.
“Anyone who can help assist do their bit needs to stand up and help,” said Williams.
Neville, now a highly-rated pundit for Sky Sports, has offered free use of 176 rooms in two Manchester hotels he co-owns, including one opposite Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has invited medical staff to 72 rooms in the Millennium Hotel at Stamford Bridge.
It follows Leicester shot-stopper Kasper Schmiechel’s generous £20,000 donation to the charity Age UK to help the elderly.
The Foxes keeper said per The Sun: “Let’s do all we can to protect the older generation.”
Furthermore, Everton committed £50,000 to launch a new ‘Blue Family’ outreach programme to help “the most vulnerable, socially isolated and at-risk people,” while Man United and Man City have come together to donate over £100,000 to the cause.
In these uncertain and troubling times, it’s wonderful to see these key figures in the footballing world come together to help those less fortunate.