Tottenham midfielder Pape Matar Sarr has decided to donate his international match bonuses this month to help orphaned children back home in Senegal.
The 22-year-old has made the decision to donate his September bonuses for his two appearances for Senegal to the National Office for the Pupils of the Nation (ONPN), a public institution that supports orphans of the armed forces and other victims who died in service to Senegal.
Sarr will be rounding up the amount he would have earned in bonuses for the games against Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo this month to 5million CFA francs (£6,600) to be donated to the children in his homeland.
"These are children who need our support because they no longer have their parents by their side," said the Spurs midfielder. "I have made a commitment to them and I will do my best to ensure they lack nothing. This is only a small gesture. Others will certainly follow through my foundation. In the meantime, I hope this small gesture can bring relief to some of them."
The Pape Matar Sarr Foundation in Senegal looks to help youngsters in his homeland, pushing for better education, sports and health for future generations and this year signed a partnership with the ONPN. Through his foundation, Sarr has visited orphanages, spoken to government officials to discuss key social and educational development issues and has ensured the distribution of food kits to families in his childhood neighbourhood.
On the pitch, Sarr looks set to have a big season at Tottenham ahead of him under new head coach Thomas Frank with the Dane a big fan of the young player after being impressed by him in pre-season.
When football.london asked Frank this summer which Spurs player had surprised him after working closely with him in training, he said: "Pape Matar Sarr is the standout in terms of, I don’t want to say expectations, but he has impressed me. He has done very well. He had a very good season two years ago and then he had a not as good (season) last year. His ability with the ball, his running power is really good."
Sarr has started all four of Frank's competitive matches so far and scored a long-range goal against Arsenal in Hong Kong during pre-season. It appears that the Senegal international has a top mentality both on and off the pitch.