FA Cup final and UN mission for Chelsea's Drogba

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) Chelsea striker Didier Drogba will end his season in tomorrow's FA Cup final with Manchester United and embark on very different sort of work for the United Nations fighting poverty.

Drogba will be key to Chelsea's Cup hopes, having scored 32 goals in a season where they have fought a constant battle against injuries and a lost the Premier League title to United.

The striker, who helped the Ivory Coast reached their first World Cup at last year's finals, is well aware of the sense of occasion at the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley.

''They've won the league, they've had fewer injuries than us but we're still there,'' Drogba told reporters.

''It's going be a fantastic moment, a bit like the last World Cup.'' But he added: ''It's a good moment only when you win.'' Chelsea will be without Michael Ballack, Andriy Shevchenko and Ricardo Carvalho, while Ashley Cole, Arjen Robben and John Obi Mikel are fighting to prove their fitness.

''When we have so many injuries we have to find another way to win,'' Drogba said. ''You need the commitment, you need to be more than 100 percent. It's going to be a very good final.'' GOODWILL AMBASSADOR Important as it is, though, Drogba is able to see a bigger picture than the world of football.

The Ivorian was appointed in January as a Goodwill Ambassador for the fight against poverty by the United Nations Development Programme, joining the likes of former France captain Zinedine Zidane and Brazilian striker Ronaldo.

''We haven't started yet because of all the games I have had to play. Now I think we're going to have time to speak with Ronaldo and Zidane and to prepare something.

''It's to give everybody a chance to have a good life.

''We have this chance, we are in a better position than people in Africa or Asia. To go there and give them what they need is very important for us.

''To go and try to build some schools is very important because the children are the future of our world.'' Looking back at his own boyhood, Drogba said: ''I had the chance to go to France very early, my parents gave me the chance to learn and go to school in a better situation than if I was in the Ivory Coast.

''So I want to share this with the people in Africa and everywhere in the world.'' Looking ahead to tomorrow's showdown with United, he said: ''It's true this final is very important, but there are things even more important than football.

''Life is more important than winning or losing a game, the FA Cup.'' Reuters DH RS1933