Long the prerogative of male coaches, the positions of technical manager in Senegal’s national teams are increasingly entrusted to former women players converted to boost women’s football. Happy consequence, 10 years after their first appearance in WAFCON finals, Senegal mark their return.
”The least we can say is that it was time we arrived at this empowerment of women and especially of former internationals who are now equipped to help promote football among young girls, said Seyni Ndir Seck, president of the Women’s Football Committee at the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF).
Speaking to CAFOnline.com, the former captain of the Teranga Lionesses is delighted with the posture of FSF national technical direction.
If the national team A head coach is still a man in the person of Mame Moussa Cissé, a former international woman Soukeye Cissé works with him, recalls the president.
“At the U20 level, the head coach Aïcha Henriette Ndiaye is assisted by Séréna Léna Gomis. Both have been national team captains,” she said.
“Among the U17s, there is a former Lionesses right-back Mbayang Thiam and in her staff, we have Ouleye Dieye, Lionesses goalkeeper during the Women’s AFCON 2012″, added Seyni Ndir Seck who is delighted that these technicians play ”role models” for the younger generation.
Mbayang Thiam beyond the technical aspect, indicates that it is important to find someone able to convey messages and tell the story of women’s football.
“I explained to them that they are very lucky to be able to play on synthetic turf. In our time, it was sand and wasteland, ” she said, reporting on the camps with U17 Senegal.
“Honestly, the Federation has taken the problem head on. There are regular camps and the parents are more receptive,” she added.
We have great ambitions in football but only the result can give credibility to our work and despite the will of the leaders if at the end, we are eliminated at each outing, it would be difficult to defend certain positions Seyni Ndir Seck
On the side of the National Technical Directorate, the boss Mayacine Mar informs that “the desire is to promote women’s football at all levels and this requires empowerment of female technical managers”.
“They integrate training courses and we must agree to give them a chance and also to know how to be patient, women’s football being in a phase of promotion in our country”, he explained.
And the results will come little by little, hopes the Senegalese technician.
Coach of the U20 women’s team which eliminated Mali, Guinea and Morocco respectively on the road to the Women’s World Cup in the category, Aïcha Henriette Ndiaye asks for “confidence and patience”.
“In Senegal, it is always difficult to be a coach and the situation is even more difficult for the ladies,” said the young technician who hatched Senegalese internationals like Franck Kanouté (Cercle Bruges, Belgium) who took part in the TotalEnergies AFCON 2021 qualifiers.
”We know that a coach is judged by his/her performance but we need more time because in addition to competition, our role is also the promotion of women’s football”, she argued.
Despite this situation, President Seyni Ndir Seck wants to be clear, believing that there would be no privileges, recalling that the technicians will be judged on the results.
”We have great ambitions in football but only the result can give credibility to our work and despite the will of the leaders if at the end, we are eliminated at each outing, it would be difficult to defend certain positions,” she said.
This therefore involves qualifying for the next competitions after the victory at the West Zone A tournament played in Sierra Leone in February 2019.
”I refuse to hide, the objective is to qualify for the AFCON 2022 in Morocco and the U20 Women’s World Cup “, she argued.
Moreover, for the fourth and final round at Costa Rica 2022 that the Lioncelles must play against Morocco, Coach Aïcha Henriette Ndiaye published a list of around twenty players on Monday.
In the meantime, alongside the selections, the massification work must continue, added President Seck indicating that this 2021-2022 season, “the elite will (still) be played in two groups”.
“It’s not ideal but we will correct and certainly next season, we will come to a single hen”, she assured.
Source:CAF
