The cry from the heart of the Senegalese athlete, Louis François Mendy, African champion in the 110m hurdles, who spat on a bonus of 80,000 FCFA, has gone around the world in recent hours. This situation pushed iGFM to go further. What you need to understand:
The 50,000 is considered a daily bonus. It’s 10,000 per day since he had to spend 5 days in Cameroon, we learned. Despite everything, the Senegalese Athletics Federation could have done more since it is an African champion and gold medalist at the African championships taking place in Cameroon. Worse, Louis François Mendy has already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
However, the gold medal at the African championships is rewarded with 700,000 CFA francs. But the fact is that the bonus is paid months or years later generally in this country that is Senegal. The examples are multiple: Senegalese athletes have been chasing their bonuses since 2007. The case of Amy SENE three times African hammer champion is the perfect illustration. Worse, the judoka, Monica Sagna, African champion, was forced to sell second-hand clothes.
It is a tragedy that Senegalese athletes are experiencing, especially the athletes, which could push them to change their sporting nationality.
As a reminder, Louis François displayed his dissatisfaction yesterday on his Instagram account: “Being African champion to win a bonus of 50,000 FCFA from the Ministry of Sports. Another sum of 30,000 FCFA added to the latter by the president of the federation. It’s better to go and play football because Sadio Mané or Gana would never have accepted this amount. I’m proud to be African Champion.
The Senegalese athletes who have already won gold medals in these African championships are: Cheikh Tidiane Diouf (400m), Louis François Mendy (110m hurdles) and Saly Sarr (triple jump).
