Neighbours Senegal won the Afcon for the very first time since their first attempt in 1986. That of course followed many years of unsuccessful attempts to qualify by the Teranga Lions. From 1986 and now though, they have reached the final a number of times. That feat alone, coupled with this year’s triumph make Senegal a great footballing nation, arguably, the best in Africa, and miles far away from The Gambia which used to be her biggest and closest rival in the sub-regional Zone II football tourney in the 1970s and ’80s.
Senegal may be bigger in population and economy than The Gambia but what must have propelled them to take a giant leap from Zone II to be ranked Africa’s best has to do more with organisation than resources. For a start, the country put in place set goal in sports: of achieving excellence in all major international disciplines – football, basketball and athletics. To attain this, the country formed a cadre of retired and active sports men and women, trained them to become coaches and administrators in their respective disciplines. In other words, they gave sports to those who played it. This way, the country produced its own local pool of coaches, for example in football, the likes of Amara Traoré, Joseph Koto and Alioune Cissé guided the national team producing sterling records.
Man power aside, Senegal invested heavily in sports infrastructure with each municipality in Dakar and other regional capitals and their surroundings having their own local mini stadia alongside national ones. These facilities attract young people to take interest in sports and help administrators to organise competitions on standard facilities.
