Mousthapa Fall saw that the peddling It was very complicated to exploit in Buenos Aires, although it had more opportunities than in its Senegal hometown, the situation was not quite right, especially with the government in power back in 2016 when the street vendors were kicked out from everywhere in the city.
And as when you can’t, you don’t have to force, at the express request of his uncle who was based in La Rioja, Mousta traveled there without knowing that a reality linked to sport was waiting for him.
Senegal is a country recently recognized for its good football performances, in fact it won its first Africa Cup less than a month ago, also for the Dakar rally and in terms of basketball it is growing little by little, although its population is beginning to pay attention to it
Fall’s history with basketball was born in Africa, playing it informally in the street with a two-for-two or three-for-three, and in La Rioja he rediscovered that lost passion. In dialogue with basquetplus the player said: “Actually here in Argentina I started to play basketball more seriously, in Senegal I played two against two or three against three on the street just like that, but I had never played in a team. Later I came to Buenos Aires to work, then to La Rioja and here I made a friend, Agustín Mebar. I met him on the street and he told me that he was very tall, that there was not that much height here and that he could seriously play basketball and he took me to Amancay. That’s where I started training and I liked it a lot.”
The globalization of the NBA was not going to be left out in Senegal and despite the fact that they play from different positions, Stephen Curry was the one he admired, while playing ultra street basketball in his city, Dakar: “I always liked basketball, I watched NBA, I’m a Stephen Curry fan. There I did not play with rules, here I learned them, in Senegal I played as it seemed to us on the street with the issue of fouls and that “
In a large family, being the oldest, helping parents is the law: “I decided to leave Senegal because in Africa there are not many opportunities, there is not much work. I had an uncle who was here in Argentina and he told me that he was fine, that I should come here. I have seven siblings and my father and mother in Senegal, as I wanted to help my family I chose to come to Argentina to work”.
“My brothers are all in Africa. I arrived in 2016 and with that quilombo (sic) of Macri that did not allow street vendors to sell, I had to go elsewhere. So it was that I contacted my uncle who was in La Rioja and he told me to go, work was calmer there”.
Sometimes finding the sport that fulfills one is a matter of luck and for Moustapha having gone to La Rioja was almost like a blessing. His height did not go unnoticed by his friend, nor by the Amancay coaches, who saw in that tall Senegalese boy someone they could help more than teaching him how to play basketball. “I was surprised by the idea of playing basketball, when I left Senegal it was to work, that way I was surprised. Later when I went to Amancay, the teachers told me that in one or two years I could play at a good level, with training I could improve a lot and so I started with everything“.
Amancay is a team from the capital of La Rioja and that at the provincial level is always in the foreground, winning three local championships in a row with the star division of Mousta, as they say in the club. “Here in La Rioja we are champions three years in a row and the truth is that I am very good at the club, they pay me to play, they give me a house. I am very happy in Amancay, the people are very kind, they are all very good to me”.
