The participation of the Association of soccer schools in the municipality of Hann Bel Air
As in previous editions, the sports community, through the Association of Football Training Schools, which has 12 centres, celebrated World Ocean Day. Two activities were carried out during the day. The first consisted in mobilizing the managers of the training centers and the young people in training for a thorough beach cleaning.
Given the state of its degradation, which has become polluted due to solid waste from local residents, but also industrial waste and discharges from the port, the initiative mobilizes, in addition to the members of the centres, some young local volunteers. As in previous years, this human investment was scheduled in the morning. The beach cleaning aims to overcome the feeling of helplessness in the face of pollution which has considerably degraded the living environment, but also to show how maintaining the beach is also a means by which one can promote sport in general and football in particular.
Indeed, in the afternoon – which is the second activity – a football tournament was organized. Beyond its competitive nature, the football tournament has an educational meaning. It is a way of showing the practitioners of this very popular sport in Senegal, that by maintaining a clean beach, they can have a playground. It should be remembered that the municipality of Hann Bel Air has many old glories that had been selected into the national team, thanks to this beach. This is where they did their apprenticeship that offered a lot. But today the beach is much reduced due to erosion and the advance of the urbanization with buildings for residential use having experienced unprecedented development. Going back to the football tournament, the 10 teams in the competitions were:
Maison Foot, Hann Bel Air Selection, Challenge, Hann Bel Air Development Center, Friendship Club, Gouneye Mafall, Top 11, Vision Foot, Gouneye Hann Montagne 6, and Mame Rokhaya. The contest was carried out in two categories: the big ones and the little ones called pupils aged only up to 12 years. In the adult category the Center Maison Foot team won, while for the pupils luck was on the side of Challenge Foot. The rewards offered by Mundus maris consisted of 8 soccer balls and two cups.
The regularity shown by the Amicale in celebrating World Ocean Day each year in partnership with Mundus maris is thanks to the commitment and voluntary manner of the office of this Amicale, active at the level of the Municipality of Hann Bel Air. In particular the tireless efforts of Babacar Ciss, better known as Gabou was key. He is responsible for the center Ecole Foot, a member of the Amicale office and also our privileged respondent with the sports community. The commitment of these partners was also reflected in the fact that they took charge of all the equipment necessary for cleaning the beach on this occasion.
