Serenading Senegal

THE supporters of the Senegalese national football team may be excused for fearing the worst after star player Sadio Mane missed a seventh-minute early penalty kick in their showdown against Egypt. Senegal had never won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title, having reached the final in 2002 and 2019 only to succumb to Cameroon and Algeria respectively. In that moment, as the Egyptian keeper Mohamed Abou Gabal guessed right and denied Mane, it appeared that the Teranga Lions would extend their wretched luck and prolong the agony of their millions of fans. But in the end, the Lions were third time lucky, and the Liverpool striker would in fact have the final word as he was the one who stepped up to dispatch the winning penalty kick in extra time after the game had ended goalless.

Senegal had the backing of most neutrals, partly because it had never lifted the trophy, while opponents Egypt had won it seven times and victory at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, the Cameroonian capital, would have taken the Pharaohs’ haul to a record-extending eighth time. There was also considerable sympathy for the Senegalese coach, 45-year-old Aliou Cisse, who had ended up on the losing side both as a player and a coach. In fact, it was Cisse who missed the decisive penalty in the 2002 final loss to Cameroon. Support for Cisse—and a feeling that criticism of him has been unduly harsh— is seen in Sadio Mane’s comments before the tournament that “I believe this man [Aliou Cisse] deserves everything because he’s the most criticised coach I’ve ever seen in in my life, but he never gives up;” and “Most importantly, we would like to win this for him and our country because he deserves it after everything he went through as a player for Senegal and now as the coach.”

The size of the crowds which lined the streets of Dakar to welcome the team is a reminder of what the achievement of the team means to the Senegalese people. On its part, the government of President Macky Sall has shown its appreciation by conferring on the players the country’s highest honour, the National Order of the Lion. This is in addition to a cash award of 50 million CFA franc (equivalent of $87,000) plus a 200 square metres plot of land to each player. We join followers of African football everywhere in congratulating the Teranga Lions on their hard-fought and well-deserved victory. At the same time, we congratulate the Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT) for staging a largely successful tournament in the teeth of escalating political violence in the Southern part of the country.

Finally, we hope that the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles, which crashed out after a disappointing loss to Tunisia in the Round of 16, will learn the proper lessons about preparation, diligence and determination from the Senegalese triumph. The Senegalese coach could not have put it better when he concluded, regarding his team’s triumph, that “It just shows that if you work hard, if you persevere, you will get what you want.”

We hope the Super Eagles and their handlers are listening.

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