Sporting success in Africa may be traced back to ancient times, and the continent is now widely regarded as one of the best in the world. In the last several decades, Africa has been a major source of dynamic athletic talent that spans a wide range of sports. Several well-known African athletes have become household names throughout the world as a result of their success in a variety of sports. Because it brings people from all walks of life and backgrounds together, sports have widespread esteem throughout the continent, and the African economy continues to benefit from the athletic business even now.<\/p>\n
Football is without a doubt Africa’s most popular and preferred sport. Football is a thrilling sport that dates back to the 1800s when British, French, and Portuguese colonialists brought it to Africa. Football, unlike other sports, needs fewer resources, and as a result, it has spread across Africa. Football is popular among young people throughout the continent, particularly in rural places. Football talent in Africa often develops at the grassroots level, and many football players started their careers on local football fields. Because the sport is popular among Africans, the number of professional football clubs and competitions across the continent has steadily increased. Without a doubt, sponsorships from both the public and commercial sectors assist to increase football’s appeal. Egypt, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Tunisia, Cameroon, and Nigeria are among the top African nations noted for their football prowess. South Africa made history in 2010 when it became the first African nation to host a World Cup.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 4, the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) claimed another triumph by lifting the African Nations Championship after beating Algeria in a penalty shootout.<\/p>\n
They now become the first African country to simultaneously hold the continent\u2019s two most prestigious prizes as they beat another African nation, Egypt, in a penalty shootout to claim the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). This is along with 2019\u2019s west African Nations Cup, 2022\u2019s Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations, qualified for 2022 FIFA World Cup before being eliminated in the round of 16 to England, qualified for 2023 Beach Soccer World Cup, 2022 Women’s AFCON quarter-finalists, qualified for U17 AFCON, qualified for U20 World Cup and recently reached the finals of the U20 AFCON.<\/p>\n
They have been finalists in 4 of the last 5 editions but this 2023 edition of the U20 AFCON is where coach Malick Daf and his Young Teranga Lions are creating records. In 5 games, they’ve earned 5 victories, scored 12 goals, conceded none, and possess the best offense and defence with 6 different goal scorers.<\/p>\n
Known for its Teranga,<\/em> which means hospitality, and praised for its cultural vibrancy\u2014its dynamic sports, arts, and culture scenes are where Senegal is increasingly making its presence felt across Africa and globally. And at the vanguard of these successes are national pride and culture.<\/p>\n The team\u2019s senior players have helped create a more global and outward-looking brand. One of the team\u2019s superstars, Sadio Man\u00e9, has often said he would trade all his honours at the club level for an Africa Cup of Nations win with Senegal. And it is not just on the field where this team is charting a new course after lifting the AFCON 2021 in Cameroon.<\/p>\n It was the culmination of the entire team\u2019s sacrifice, vision, and admiration for their country. But it wasn\u2019t the team\u2019s victory alone. There are many moving parts behind the scenes that facilitated this momentous event.<\/p>\n Senegal is investing more in sports<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Senegal\u2019s Ministry of Sports, which has given their football federation autonomy to make independent decisions, acted as a critical facilitator on the journey to greatness. The ministry has focused on important long-term work, such as building and refurbishing stadiums, while Senegal\u2019s federation continued to back their coach. It\u2019s clear to see that the manager sees football more like a game of chess, rather than an art form. All of his formations, line-ups, and substitutions are calculated. His analytical approach to the beautiful game helped Senegal rise to the top of Africa. Generation Foot academy, launched in 2000, can claim to have placed four of its former residents in Senegal\u2019s team. With Sadio Man\u00e9 as technical leader, we noted the presence of strikers Ismaila Sarr and Habib Diallo, and midfielder Pape Matar Sarr.<\/p>\n The Diambars Academy, founded in 2003, also had four footballers in the squad. They are Idrissa Gana Gueye, Saliou Ciss, Joseph Lopy and Ahmadou Bamba Dieng.<\/p>\n Since the launch of the league in 2009, the two clubs of Generation Foot and Diambars have won respectively two league titles (2016 and 2018) and a title of champion of Senegal (2013). Senegal\u2019s progress as a nation has not been confined to the football field. The country\u2019s stadium refurbishment drive comes ahead of the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics in Dakar. This will generate tourism opportunities for the country, which is moving forward on several fronts.<\/p>\n With an economy growing at positive growth rates per annum coupled with efforts to position itself as a cultural and creative capital, brand Senegal is headed towards a positive trajectory to capitalize on these positive gains. The country is poised to be a leader for West Africa and even continental Africa in terms of economic growth. Infrastructure projects related to sports stadium refurbishments and construction, such as the Diamniadio Olympic Stadium and the Dakar Arena, are launch pads to boost economic activity. The investment in sports stadiums and development structures will showcase Senegal\u2019s investment in state-of-the-art infrastructure.<\/p>\n The $2 billion (1.25 trillion FCFA) futuristic Diamniadio Lake City, influenced by Senegal\u2019s indigenous culture and landscape, is slated to feature entertainment facilities, an industrial park, and state ministries. These positive wins will make the country an attractive destination driving intra-African tourism, which should spur economic growth. Senegal\u2019s academy model to train future football stars<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Foot academy, located in the village of D\u00e9ni Biram Ndao, 40 kilometers north of Dakar, has seen the big stars of the national team: Sadio Man\u00e9, Habib Diallo, Pape Matar Sarr or Isma\u00efla Sarr. What can Cameroon learn from Senegal\u2019s story?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Football is Africa\u2019s national pastime, but the national football associations and the local football clubs are sometimes plagued with symptoms similar to those found in the African governments \u2013 corrupt leaders, inadequate training facilities, lack of funding, disputes between ethnic football clubs, and the extraction of Africa\u2019s best players to the European leagues. Despite these obstacles, Africans compete as equals on the world football stage \u2013 going to the semi-finals of the FIFA world cup, winning FIFA junior world cups, and winning Olympic gold medals. The standard sports related platitudes<\/strong> <\/em>\u2013 physical fitness, confidence building, uniting different social and ethnic groups, and establishing civic and national pride \u2013 are applicable to Cameroonian football; an infusion of grassroots aid and training that allows Cameroon to grow its own experts in the area of interest. Famous Liberian footballer, Josiah Johnson, said, \u201cFootball is like a biscuit, you never know how it is going to break.\u201d<\/p>\n Copyright\u00a92023 kick442.com<\/strong><\/p>\n All rights reserved. This material and any other digital content on this platform may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, written, or distributed in full or in part, without written permission from our management.<\/strong><\/p>\n This site is not responsible for the content displayed by external sites<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sporting success in Africa may be traced back to ancient times, and the continent…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140,39,44,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afcon","category-african-football","category-chan","category-football"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nAliou Ciss\u00e9 embodies the Senegal spirit of Teranga, or family and sharing. Most of Senegal\u2019s success came from his tactics.<\/p>\n
\nCiss\u00e9 being the head coach for Senegal established a continuity rare among African national teams. His tenure has helped him set up an established play style. Traditionally, he\u2019s played very dynamic formations like the 4-2-3-1 and the 4-1-4-1, where you can not only be solid and compact on defence, but also very aggressive on offense.
\nSenegal\u2019s famous win over France 20+ years ago was cast as a victory for \u201cFrance B\u201d, perhaps as Patrick Vieira had chosen to play for France rather than the country of his birth. But in reality 21 of Senegal\u2019s 23-man squad in 2002 were born in Senegal, and the two France-born players didn\u2019t start a single game between them. During the World Cup in 2022 in Qatar, nine of Senegal\u2019s squad were born in France, while goalkeeper Seny Dieng was born in Switzerland. Ismail Jakobs, born in Germany and a regular in their U21 side, switched nationality so late that his place in the squad was uncertain on the eve of the tournament because of administrative problems processing his passport. Nicolas Jackson, from Gambia, qualified because he was raised in Senegal.
\nOf the 27 called up by coach Aliou Ciss\u00e9 for the AFCON 2021, eight players were trained by two academies founded in the early 2000s, which corresponds to just over a quarter of those selected.<\/p>\n
\nHe was neither a resident of Generation Foot nor of Diambars but Ibrahima Mbaye was trained in an academy called Etoile de Lusitana, a training centre less famous than the first two mentioned.<\/p>\n
\nAnd the cultural and creative sector, as a result of the sports ecosystem, can drive additional growth.<\/p>\n
\nThe spirit of Teranga is needed to lead the continent towards a regionally and economically connected Africa, and Senegal is well-positioned to take the reins.<\/p>\n
\n“All of Senegal wants to come here,\u201d smiles Bassouar\u00e9 Diaby, the head trainer at G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Foot, a football academy a few hours out of Dakar, the capital. It is easy to see why. Three verdant training pitches abut a small stadium complete with corporate boxes, a video-analysis suite and a briefing room for press conferences. Players as young as 12 live on the site, which also has a gym, a lyc\u00e9e to make sure aspiring footballers complete their schooling, and a barbershop. The players should all \u201cbe well groomed and in the same way\u201d. \u201cThat\u2019s part of discipline,\u201d he says, adding: \u201cWe have put in place everything to give the boys the best chance to perform.\u201d
\nIt is working. More than 15 current players, who joined the academy after extensive scouting and trials, represent Senegal in youth teams.
\nEverywhere in the premises of the academy created in 2000 are displayed the portraits of these great footballers who make the 117 young people currently in training dream. At the origin of the project, Mady Tour\u00e9, wanted to create a centre \u201cto provide great footballers to Senegal\u201d. A successful bet: with eighteen players selected for the national team, the president of G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Foot, both a training centre and a professional club, prides itself on being one of the \u201cproviders of Senegalese football\u201d.
\nAfter more than twenty years of hard work, the professional club is now playing in Ligue 1 of the Senegalese championship and the training centre covers eighteen hectares, with two large football fields, a third synthetic one under construction, a boarding school and a high school. Here players are supported for free.
\nTo finance this project, Mady Tour\u00e9 counted from the start on a partnership, first tied with the club of Nancy then with FC Metz, which still accompanies them today. \u201cSince FIFA has established regulations that prohibit the transfer of minors, I thought we needed a centre in Senegal where the players do their pre-training. Then the most talented continue their career at FC Metz when they are over 18, explains Mr. Tour\u00e9. The French club makes its choice according to its needs.
\nThe partnership is \u201cwin-win\u201d according to the businessman: on the one hand, the Senegalese academy benefits from Metz funding to offer training in good conditions. And, on the other hand, the French club recovers two to four players each year, many of whom were then \u201csold well\u201d. Some were even transferred very quickly after their arrival at FC Metz, like Isma\u00efla Sarr who left for Rennes after a year for 17 million euros (11 billion FCFA).
\nMady Tour\u00e9 has resigned himself to this flight of African talent to Europe. \u201cWe send players to China, Morocco or Guinea. If the door is open to all, we have a preference for the European market,\u201d concedes the businessman. \u201cWe can\u2019t afford to pay quality players enough to keep them in Senegal,\u201d justifies Mr. Tour\u00e9, who calls on the authorities to subsidize the clubs to keep promising footballers in the country.
\nTo give maximum chances to these young people, the academy has adopted a program to help players improve their skills. \u201cThey must gain speed and have technical qualities because football has become very fast\u201d, explains Bassouar\u00e9 Diaby, director of the training centre for three years. Another aspect also affects the mind, to ensure that footballers can be \u201cplaying under pressure and never giving up even when it\u2019s hard\u201d.
\nBecause less than 5% of young people in the academy will succeed in building a real professional career according to Mady Tour\u00e9, \u201cwe insist on studies so that they are qualified and educated\u201d, he explains. In high school, sixty-seven students are taking classes from lower sixth to final year, with a 100% success rate in the baccalaureate in 2021. \u201cWe also offer professional training in communication, for example, to offer them opportunities\u201d, continues Mady Tour\u00e9.
\nFunded by the FIFA Forward Programme, national youth leagues were introduced in Senegal in 2020, with the stated goal of improving the competitiveness of young players and preparing them for the upcoming 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Since then, these competitions, which have also been opened up to girls, have been in full swing right across the country, and the Lions de la Teranga won their first-ever Cup of Nations.
\n\u201cYoung boys and girls are often left out, the technical and tactical work is there, and efforts are made by the clubs and academies, but overall they lack competitions. By creating this type of project, we encourage young people from diverse backgrounds to compete against each other. These events enable us to reinforce the work already done by the clubs and football academies.\u201d
\nThe competitions, run at U-15, U-17 and U-20 level for boys and U-15 and U-17 level for girls, are arranged in the form of leagues that are played throughout the year all over the 14 regions that make up Senegal. \u201cIt\u2019s a real opportunity, even a dream, to be able to take part\u201d. \u201cThe league provides the chance to play against other clubs, and consequently to discover other football cultures, and to gain experience. In short, to make progress.\u201d
\nAnd with the increased level of competition come higher stakes. Of course, there are potential national titles to add to CVs, but there are also scouts from the country\u2019s largest clubs to win over. \u201cThis league gives us the visibility that we need\u201d. \u201cOur players hope to secure a contract with a big club one day, which will enable them to then help their friends and family. It\u2019s our source of motivation; it\u2019s what pushes us to keep improving.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nApplication of the Football Development Model in future African development efforts can potentially affect countries in the following aspects: better football governance, sports-economics, social aspects, and integration into the international football community.
\nOnly 15 African states have a GDP higher than $15.6 billion (9.7 trillion FCFA). Likewise, sports and football can be influential in the social and individual living aspects. Right from its beginning, football was a working class game that allowed the English neighbourhoods, with a multitude of industrial jobs and unions, to bond into larger entities that resulted in civic\/national pride and helped the working class insert itself into the economic and political framework.
\nThis same phenomenon is occurring in Africa, and will increase as Africa\u2019s middle class continues to grow. Participation in football provides individuals with an opportunity to set and achieve goals, maintain their personal fitness, enjoy the comradeship of teammates, and potentially, make a career of the game. Thus, even though one may not initially associate sport and football as important components of governments, the sports clich\u00e9s \u2013 sport begets dreams, sport instils discipline, sport teaches organizational skills, sport fosters civic involvement, sport brings disparate people together, sport maintains health, and sport is an economic activity \u2013 are indeed important to any government.
\nThe culmination of the relationship between Africa and FIFA is FIFA\u2019s awarding the World Cup 2010 to South Africa, but that event in itself demonstrates Africa\u2019s ability to negotiate FIFA politics. It had been a long road as Africa achieved equality in both the football pitch and in FIFA politics. FIFA\u2019s advertisements for World Cup 2010 demonstrated this equality. Their \u201cWin in Africa with Africa\u201d program states, \u201cIn essence, ‘Win in Africa with Africa’ is not about sending aid to Africa so much as providing the continent with the tools to progress and the skills with which it can continue its own development.\u201d
\nThe Football Development Model for Cameroon involves the following:
\nGrassroots Fundamentals in the Rise of Cameroonian Football<\/em> <\/strong>\u2013 For any skill to be learned, adequate training must be provided. In the case of football, FIFA, in cooperation with the national football associations, has created a wonderful system for training coaches, players, and officials. Football has been grouped into technical skills (like dribbling, passing, and tackling), tactical skills (like team formations and controlling the midfield), and psychological skills (like being prepared to play). Coaching these skills has been organized into various levels, where a specific set of training is provided followed by a written test and a demonstration test that result in a certification for that level, with the levels roughly corresponding to beginner through professional. Properly trained coaches are then prepared to organize practices for beginners, intermediates, advanced, and professionals. FIFA has organized a similar system for referees and officials. The African associations did not solely negotiate financial aid from FIFA, but rather funding support that included establishing grassroots training in the fundamentals of football throughout Africa. This fundamental grassroots training will allow football to prosper at all levels of the Cameroonian society.
\nAccepting Imperfection in the Cameroon Football System<\/strong><\/em> \u2013 Three areas require improvement: playing conditions, the pay structure of the clubs, and movement of Cameroonian players to the European leagues. The playing conditions, for both practice and matches are not equal to those in Europe. At the grassroots level, the fields are often uneven without grass. Similar conditions exist for the club practice facilities. The club and national stadiums are sometimes rather old and in need of repair, which has resulted in several stadium accidents. But a country that could produce Mbappe Leppe, Theophile Abega, Roger Milla, Joseph-Antoine Bell, Thomas Nkono, Samuel Eto\u2019o, Vincent Aboubakar and many others in such substandard conditions can do more today more than ever if accepting the imperfections and improving on them becomes its mantra.<\/p>\n
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