This is the event that the Senegalese community is looking forward to. Sunday evening, all African football fans will be glued to their screens on the occasion of the final of the African Cup of Nations taking place in Cameroon. The match will pit Senegal against Egypt. And for the occasion, it will be broadcast on a giant screen at the Lucan gymnasium in Mantes-la-Jolie (Yvelines)*, the city hosting one of the largest Senegalese communities in Île-de-France.
“We said to ourselves that if Senegal, Morocco or Algeria qualified for the final, we had to broadcast the match on a giant screen, says Saïdou Dia, organizer of the event thanks to his association “Youth and Diversity”. .
Until now, we watched matches at home or in the Garennes social center. But the goal is for everyone to be able to meet, come together, in a great moment of communion. »
“It will surely be crowded and you will have to arrive early”
Asked by the young man, reassured by the reputation of his association which had organized the Can des Quartiers last year, the mayor was in favor of the initiative. He authorized the event without hesitation. The organizers had for a time imagined deploying the giant screen at the Jean-Paul-David stadium, but the uncertainty of the weather dissuaded them. It will therefore be at the Lucan gymnasium, at the entrance to Val-Fourré, in a more restricted space.
“It will surely be crowded and you will have to arrive early. We’re going to put chairs in, make as much space as possible, but it might be tight. We will surely be very numerous and encouraged by our North African and Malian friends,” adds Saïdou Dia.
From 7 p.m. at the Lucan gymnasium, avenue Albert-Camus. Presence of the Senegalese singer Salam Diallo. Free admission, limited seating available.
