Promotion of basketball in Ziguinchor: The mayor’s cup regains its rights

Nine men’s teams and four women’s teams are competing for the second edition of the basketball Mayor’s Cup, officially launched on Saturday October 10 in Ziguinchor. Beyond the battle on the courts, the competition aims to give rhythm to the clubs, to reveal talents and to make sports infrastructures a lever for growth and local development.

ZIGUINCHOR – In the regional capital of the south, basketball now intends to gain ground, on the courts as well as in neighborhood life. With the launch of the second edition of the Mayor’s Cup, the municipality is putting young people at the heart of the game, focusing on competition to maintain talent, strengthen clubs and give new impetus to local sport. For Mayor Djibril Sonko, the stakes go beyond the baskets scored and the trophies to be won. “With this competition, we want to liven up the city on weekends and create economic activity around the meetings,” indicated Ousmane Sonko’s successor. During the matches, peanut sellers and small traders will benefit from the crowds, in a dynamic that the councilor wishes to extend to football from November, with a competition intended for clubs affiliated to the Senegalese Football Federation. On the ground, the mayor of the commune of Ziguinchor affirmed that the cup must also serve as preparation for local teams before the national deadlines. “I invite the players to take this meeting seriously, convinced that the multiplication of meetings is essential to their technical and physical progress,” insisted Djibril Sonko.

But this ambition faces a major challenge: the availability of suitable infrastructure. On this specific aspect, Djibril Sonko announced the next rehabilitation of the Jules-François-Bocandé stadium, with the installation of a synthetic turf. For basketball, he specified that discussions are underway with the Regional League in order to “improve the grounds of the municipality and cover that of the stadium, to allow players to play in better conditions”. For his part, the president of the regional League, Mamadou Lamine Saul Sidibé, welcomed an initiative that he considers remarkable in the local sporting landscape. According to him, the organization of an official launching ceremony “constitutes a strong signal for a discipline which has contributed to revealing many Senegalese talents”. With thirteen teams involved, this second edition places basketball at the crossroads of several issues linked to the training of young people, the competitiveness of clubs, economic development and the modernization of equipment. In Ziguinchor, the kick-off is given. It remains to transform this dynamic into lasting opportunities for young people.