The 2023 African Cup of Nations kicks off in exactly 11 days’ time in Côte d’Ivoire. Senegal, the defending champions, have already begun their preparations, and a controversy has been brewing since Aliou Cissé’s first training sessions.
Senegal are eagerly awaited at the 2023 African Cup of Nations. Drawn in the group of death, Aliou Cissé’s men will be fighting hard to get out of a group that includes the Lions of Teranga, Cameroon, Guinea Conakry and Gambia. But that is not the case for Alassane N’Dour, a former Senegalese international, who believes that Aliou Cissé’s Senegal are inevitably favourites for the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations, given that they are the reigning champions.
“Senegal are in a group that is not easy, I would say easy for some, because they think that there are always teams that are inferior to Senegal. But for my part, I wouldn’t say it’s easy. I’d say it’s a very difficult group because Senegal have two derbies to play in this group against Guinea Conakry and Gambia. We know our relations with Guinea and Gambia, so it’s going to be very tense. These are going to be very tough matches. There are no small teams. We’ll be the favourites, I’d say, because Senegal are the team everyone wants to beat (…) There’s also the Cameroon game, which will be very, very difficult. We’ve played them in friendlies, we won a goalless draw maybe two months ago, but a friendly is not an official match. Anyone who knows the Cameroonians knows that they are very, very, very effective in official matches. But Senegal are still the holders,” he told Afrique Sports exclusively.
Aliou Cissé, Senegal’s national coach, has unveiled his list with a number of questions surrounding Boulaye Dia, Youssouf Sabaly, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Pape Matar Sarr, who are all injured. But while waiting for them to recover, the Senegalese coach has begun his preparations and has already held his first training sessions.
Controversy erupts after Senegal’s first training sessions
Aliou Cissé, Senegal’s national coach, is desperate to repeat the monumental feat of the last edition. He knows full well that the task will be difficult for his team, and Sadio Mané has made no secret of the fact. The star of the Lions of Teranga says that the competition being organised by Côte d’Ivoire will be the toughest yet, given the level of all the qualified teams. “We know it won’t be easy, but we’ll be there to do our best and try to get through each round. We’re expecting tough competition. This competition will be one of the strongest I’ve taken part in because all the big countries are here and they all have their objectives. But we’ll see what happens,” said the Al Nassr striker.
While Aliou Cissé has begun his preparations with the first training sessions, Mauritanian journalist Lassana Camara has made a revelation about the Senegalese national team. According to him, the Lions of Teranga have been dressed by Puma for years. But photos published by the Senegalese national team itself show the players training in shirts made by another manufacturer, Umbro, which date back to the 2021 African Cup of Nations, when the English brand was CAF’s partner. This monumental blunder caused a scandal and angered Puma, Senegal’s equipment supplier. According to the journalist, Puma is likely to hit the nail on the head.
The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) is anxious to resolve the problem so as to avoid conflicts of interest between two equipment manufacturers.
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