The current African champion in the 110m hurdles of the 23rd African Championships currently taking place in Douala expressed his frustration with the authorities who manage sports in Senegal. According to him, in this country, it is better to play football than to practice other sports, especially athletics.
While Senegalese athletes have not yet finished sipping the resounding success achieved through a hard struggle in Douala, the couscous has just received sand. Louis François Mendy, who won gold in the 110m hurdles earlier this week in Douala during the African Athletics Championships, is not happy. He is almost very angry with the country’s sports authorities.
For good reason, crowned with the title of African champion, Louis François Mendy only obtained as a bonus for this distinguished performance the modest sum of 50,000 FCFA. “Being an African champion to win a bonus of 50,000 FCFA from the Ministry of Sports (…) another sum of 30,000 FCFA is added to this by the president of the Senegalese Athletics Federation. It’s really unfortunate to be African champion in Senegal,” said Louis François Mendy.
According to him, being African champion in Senegal means nothing at all in the eyes of the authorities who have no respect for other disciplines. This is not the first time that other athletes have castigated the attitude of the authorities towards them. As well as martial arts practitioners, through volleyball, basketball among others have always decried the favoritism of football to their detriment.
The authorities spend hundreds of millions just for the regroupings and the travel of the Lions of football, not to mention the match bonuses that vary between 5 and 8 million. It is true that football is the opium of the people, said the other, and the previous governments played a lot on this thread to try to coax the youth, who are keen on the round ball. This is why they do not skimp on the means. A third of these means granted to the disciplines would allow them to work miracles. Hence the anger shown by this athlete towards the authorities. “It is better to go and play football because neither Sadio Mané nor Idrissa Gana Gueye would have ever accepted this sum,” he hammered home before supporting with spite and as if to taunt the Ministry of Sports. “I give you your bonus, but I am proud to be African champion. It is time for this to stop,” he concluded.
A few weeks before the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and at a time when many Senegalese athletes are counting on him to win a second Olympic medal, this statement by Louis François Mendy will undoubtedly bring discord between the Ministry of Sports and certain athletes. Perhaps it is time to review the support provided to high-level athletes in order to motivate them to allow Senegal to shine in Africa and in the world to bring us more and more gold medals.
