--- title: WATCH: Emotional Videos of Idris Elba and Soccer Players On Ebola description: "Our fans treat us like heroes, but I am no hero" canonical: https://time.com/3616244/watch-emotional-videos-of-idris-elba-and-african-soccer-players-on-ebola/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-03T17:11:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:16.172Z article:section: Health og:title: WATCH: Emotional Videos of Idris Elba and Soccer Players On Ebola og:description: "Our fans treat us like heroes, but I am no hero" og:url: https://time.com/3616244/watch-emotional-videos-of-idris-elba-and-african-soccer-players-on-ebola/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt944dc4d5e80d8cf1/69876c5d3c1639463c450653/screen-shot-2014-12-03-at-12-09-17-pm.png?branch=production&width=780&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 780 og:image:height: 439 og:image:alt: Screen Shot 2014-12-03 at 12.09.17 PM og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: WATCH: Emotional Videos of Idris Elba and Soccer Players On Ebola twitter:description: "Our fans treat us like heroes, but I am no hero" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt944dc4d5e80d8cf1/69876c5d3c1639463c450653/screen-shot-2014-12-03-at-12-09-17-pm.png?branch=production&width=780&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # WATCH: Emotional Videos of Idris Elba and Soccer Players On Ebola > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=31509b60-80d3-4fcc-99d3-55445867d178&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Africa United West Africa vs. Ebola ft. Idris Elba [Watch (HLS stream): Africa United West Africa vs. Ebola ft. Idris Elba](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/JrGcAUSu.m3u8) (1:50)  _Published 2014-12-03. Africa United West Africa vs. Ebola ft. Idris Elba_ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Dec 3, 2014 5:11 PM UTC  Africa United by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Dec 3, 2014 5:11 PM UTC As part of a new Ebola campaign, the nonprofit arm of the CDC—the Centers for Disease Control Foundation—as well as soccer stars, celebrities and international health organizations created moving PSAs about Ebola to spread through West Africa. The first video, [“We’ve Got Your Back,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af4Ld1jIteE&feature=youtu.be)” made by the newly formed Ebola education group [Africa United](http://www.weareafricaunited.org/), features well-known soccer players, many from or playing for African countries. “Our fans treat us like heroes, but I am no hero,” says Yaya Touré who plays for Manchester City. He’s followed by several other soccer players like Patrick Viera and Kei Kamara, all acknowledging they are not heroes. “The health workers fighting Ebola are the real heroes,” the video says, highlighting several West Africans fighting the Ebola virus. The players wear the health care workers’ names on the back of their jerseys, in hopes of spreading awareness that health care workers are heroes and should be treated as such. Actor Idris Elba, perhaps best known for playing Stringer Bell on _The Wire_, stars in the second video, where he gives a rallying speech about Ebola to a locker room of soccer players. “For me the battle against Ebola is a personal one. To see those amazing countries in West Africa where my father grew up and my parents married being ravaged by this disease is painful and horrific,” said Elba in a statement. The campaign is using #wevegotyourback to show support for the people fighting the disease. ## Transcript West Africa, everybody listen up. We have a very big game today, very important. This is not an ordinary game, this is life or death. And here's what we're up against. Ebola has defeated thousands across Africa. Its key strengths. Is passing. The infection passes through contact of bodily fluids and the deceased. This isn't a 19 minute game. It takes between 2 and 21 days for symptoms to recur. It's easily mistaken as malaria or flu. The most important is a very sudden high fever. Plus any one of these, nausea, headache, tiredness, vomiting, diarrhea and coughing. So how do we tackle Ebola? By sticking to four tactics. Number one avoid bodily contact. Number two wash your hands regularly with soap and chlorine. Number three avoid undercooked food and bushmeat. Number four, do not touch the deceased. Do not try to bury them yourself. If you develop symptoms please go to your health facility immediately. Early treatment means there are much, much better odds of beating this. Ebola is a very tough opponent, but please do not lose hope. There are health workers helping around the clock and we can win. If we work as a team, it's really important we do that. To report symptoms or get information call. West Africa, get out there. We can do this. Let's spread the word, not the disease. Let's go! 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