As Senegal prepares to face Côte d’Ivoire on January 29 in the round of 16 of the men’s African Cup of Nations (CAN 2024), in southeastern Senegal, footballers in the region are warning on the almost total absence of sports infrastructure: no municipal stadium in Kédougou, nor in the entire region of the same name. Fans of football and sporting activities denounce territorial inequality for this city located more than 700 km from Dakar.
2 mins
With our special correspondent in Kédougou, Léa-Lisa Westerhoff
The ball passes from foot to foot. But, like every week, this warm-up session for the amateur team which plays in the National division of Senegal takes place on vacant land, due to lack of a stadium or a real football field.
“ We cannot understand that there is only one stadium »
Sambo Diagne, who dreams of being a professional player, is jaded: “ Difficult, because we train on half the field. We don’t have a lot of space… The conditions and the equipment are a bit difficult for us. »
No space, no synthetic turf, no goals: each team installs them on its part of the field. An incomprehensible situation for Cheikh Diouf, general secretary of the Kédougou Football League: “ It’s a mining region where there are so many resources. We cannot understand that there is only one stadium. A stadium which doesn’t even have a lawn, no stands, no changing rooms, no toilet block… As there is a construction site, we no longer have an approved pitch in the region. »
“ Leaders don’t help us much »
Because the municipal stadium, which dates from 1982, has been under construction for a year. Its stands are dilapidated, its floor damaged. And the regional stadium, promised for five years, has still not been built.
For Kédougou footballers, the slightest competition therefore takes place 230 kilometers from home, in the town of Tambacounda which has a stadium. A lack of infrastructure which is experienced as a real injustice for this city of 200,000 inhabitants.
“ There are many young people who aspire to be professional footballers. Here, in Kédougou, we are 700 kilometers from Dakar. We don’t have good stadiums. The leaders don’t help us much. It’s complicated for us. » The regional sports inspector, Tidiane Camara, confirms: sports infrastructure is almost non-existent throughout the region, despite promises like that of the Minister of Sports who, last May, promised three stadiums to the Kédougou region. .