The president of Senegal, Bassirou-Diomaye Faye, rewarded the players of his national team, the “Lions of Teranga”, with the payment of 75 million CFA francs (about 115,000 euros) and the delivery of land to each one for winning their second Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco on Sunday, a victory that has unleashed euphoria in the country.
“I have given each Lion present 75 million CFA francs,” the president said from the Palace of the Republic, specifying that they will also receive plots of 1,500 square meters in the Petite-Côte (Little Coast, in French), a popular area of the Senegalese coastline south of the capital, Dakar.
I gave each Lion present 75 million CFA francs
According to local media, Faye also announced cash prizes and smaller plots of land for the leaders of the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) and all the members of the delegation that his country sent to the Africa Cup of Nations, as well as a total of 305 million CFA francs for the Ministry of Sports (about half a million euros).
In addition, the national coach, Pape Thiaw, and the rest of the team were decorated in a solemn ceremony with the rank of Commanders of the National Order of the Lion, the highest distinction in Senegal.
The president received the players after they paraded through the streets of Dakar to present their trophy to thousands of citizens, in a route that included the Patte d’Oie (Goose Leg) neighborhood, a nerve center of the city and a usual place for large processions.
In an open-top bus decorated in the national colors – green, red and yellow – the national team’s captain, Sadio Mane, and his teammates celebrated surrounded by the cheers of their compatriots, while fans sang and danced to the beat of traditional drums.
The champions arrived in Dakar in the early hours of Monday morning, where Faye welcomed them at the airport and said they performed with “heroism” and “played beautiful football”.
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