Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o hopes holding the World Cup in South Africa can help eradicate racism in European football.
Eto'o will lead Cameroon in their sixth World Cup where they will face Holland, Denmark and Japan in a competitive Group E.
It will conclude a memorable season for the 29-year-old who claimed the Serie A title and the Coppa Italia with Inter Milan before Jose Mourinho's side went on to win the Champions League.
Eto'o arrived in Europe in 1996 when he joined Real Madrid, although he made just three appearances during a three-year period which he spent mainly on loan, before going on to play for Real Mallorca, Barcelona and then Inter.
However, Eto'o claimed he was a target for racists in both Spain and Italy and he hopes this World Cup can be a force for change.
He told The Guardian: "It has never been easy and until the end of my career it won't be easy.
"But maybe this World Cup, being the first in Africa, can change attitudes. I hope so but I suffered a lot in Italy this year. So it's not just one country where there is racism.
"But to obtain these rewards you have to go through that.
"And that's why it's incredible we're playing in the country where my idol, Madiba (Nelson Mandela), lives."
Of his experiences Eto'o revealed: "When I played against Real Zaragoza they chanted like monkeys and threw peanuts on the pitch.
"So when I scored I danced in front of them like a monkey.
"When the same thing happened against Real Madrid I scored and held my fist in a Black Power salute."
Eto'o described his experiences of watching Cameroon's march to the quarter-finals in 1990 where they were beaten 3-2 by England, saying: "I was nine years old and after every match I'd run around the streets of Douala. No-one could catch me because I was so happy."
However, he added: "But watching that game again in later years, as I sometimes still do today, I think the world wasn't ready for an African team to reach the semi-finals."
