French Ligue 1 side FC Metz will construct six stadiums in honour of the six Senegalese players groomed by partner club Génération Foot, ace African football journalist Usher Komugisha reports.
This is being done by the French outfit in honour of the contribution of their former players who helped Senegal clinch the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
FC Metz and Génération Foot have had a long term partnership that gives the former exclusive rights to the best of talents from the Dakar-based academy in exchange for state-of-the-art equipment and financial assistance.
Génération Foot is the brainchild of former Senegalese footballer Mady Touré, whose career was short-circuited by injuries.
The academy was established in 2000 and after failed attempts to secure a partnership deal with AS Nancy, Touré reached an agreement with FC Metz in 2003 and have since enjoyed a fruitful marriage with the French club.
The deal gives Metz exclusive rights to sign the best of talents from Génération Foot while the French side supports the academy with equipment and financial assistance to churn out more talents.
A new 10-year deal between the two parties was signed in 2020 to continue the fruitful relationship
Who are the players the stadiums will be named after
Liverpool star and scorer of the winning penalty Sadio Mane, captain Kalidou Koulibaly, Watford winger Ismaila Sarr, Bouna Sarr, Pape Matar Sarr and Habib Diallo were all groomed by Génération Foot.
The aforementioned players all played for FC Metz before moving on to varying degrees of success in Europe.
Senegal unveils state of the art stadium edifice in Diamniadio
Earlier, Sports Brief reported that the government of Senegal has outdoored the country’s newly-built state of the art stadium in Diamniadio in the presence of thousands of fans of the national team.
Having won the Africa Cup of Nations early this month, the West African football powerhouse followed their success with the completion of the stadium which will host all their international matches.
At a ceremony in the country’s capital Dakar, Senegal President Macky Sall revealed the stadium is named after the former head of state, Abdoulaye Wade.
Source: SportsBrief.com