From dream to professional career: Way Point Football supports young talents aged 13 to 22
In Senegal, the dream of becoming a professional footballer is everywhere: in neighborhoods, on vacant lots, in academies. But between the hope of leaving for Europe and the reality of the journey, the gap is immense, and too many young people are lost. It is in this in-between that Way Point Football intends to act. A support program designed between Senegal and Spain to offer young people aged 13 to 22 a framework, a method and a real itinerary.
In Dakar, between two coaching sessions, Habib Ladiane speaks frankly. This young footballer, who has chosen to invest in training, goes against the grain in an environment where dreams have too often become a loss leader. Because the scenario is known to everyone. A young man is spotted, he is promised Europe, we talk to him about big clubs and a professional contract. He leaves, then nothing.
Between being spotted and becoming a professional, there is a world of difference. A world of procedures, adaptation, competition and solitude. It is in this gap that many find themselves trapped. “I have seen too much young talent lost due to false promises. We tell them: “You are going to sign in Europe”, then we abandon them as soon as they arrive. Designed to support young footballers, Way Point Football is a program initiated to put an end to these difficulties. “We are not here to sell dreams, we are here to build a journey,” he explains. The formula sums up the entire philosophy of the structure: do not break the dream, but put it back on track. Ladiane insists that a plane ticket is not worth a contract. A trial invitation does not guarantee a signature. And arriving in Europe does not automatically make a young talent a professional footballer. The dream doesn’t end at the airport, but that’s often where the difficulties begin.
Do not leave young people alone in the face of the dream
It is precisely to avoid this sudden dropout that Way Point Football wants to intervene at both ends of the course. In Senegal, the structure identifies, supervises, trains and guides young hopefuls, with rigorous and professional monitoring. In Spain, she takes over from those who have already arrived, but find themselves without a club, without a network, sometimes without a real living environment. “A young person who arrives in Spain and does not find a club in three months is lost. He becomes vulnerable. Our job is to integrate him quickly, to find him a club in his category, whatever the division, and to offer him a professional and human environment so that he can progress,” he says. A way of recalling something obvious that the euphoria of departure sometimes makes us forget: before being a future star, a young footballer remains first and foremost a teenager or a young adult who needs a roof over his head, reference points and support.
Way Point Football does not intend to limit its action to players only. “We also support Senegalese coaches based in Spain who are looking to structure themselves, find clubs in which to practice and showcase their skills,” explains Ladiane. The idea is to build a real environment around talent, rather than betting everything on raw talent.
Football as the first door
Reducing Way Point Football to a simple player placement agency would, however, miss the ambition of its promoter. For Ladiane, football is not an end in itself. It is a key that opens other, much wider doors. “Football is our starting point, not our ending point. We want to use sport as a lever to create a real bridge between cities. Bringing together a Senegalese town hall with a Spanish provincial delegation, connecting chambers of commerce, talking about tourism, territorial marketing, institutional exchanges,” he explains. Then this sentence, which alone sums up his vision: “The ball opens doors that politics alone does not open”. From lawns to communities, from academies to chambers of commerce, the project intends to widen the playing field. The young footballer is no longer only an aspiring athlete, but also a possible link between two territories, two cultures, two economies.
“Dakar 2026”, the dream changes scale
This ambition takes on particular resonance as the “Dakar 2026” Youth Olympic Games (YOG) approach. For Ladiane, this event cannot be reduced to just the sporting aspect. “Dakar 2026 is not just about the Games. This is the first time that the Olympic flag will fly on the African continent. It is a source of immense pride for all of Senegal. Positioned between Spain and Senegal, we want to be a relay of this dynamic, to carry the message of Senegalese youth abroad, to show that Senegal is ready and that its youth are ready. »
The symbol is strong. In a country where so many young people dream of crossing borders thanks to football, it is also a question of showing that Senegal can, itself, become a global point of convergence.
No race for numbers
How many young people does Way Point Football plan to support? Ladiane refuses any escalation. “I won’t tell you that we are going to support 100 or 200 players. The objective is to welcome the maximum amount of talent depending on the opportunities, but with a non-negotiable condition: guaranteeing qualitative and personalized monitoring for everyone,” he says. “I prefer to support ten players correctly than a hundred in disorder. Each young person who trusts us carries the hope of an entire family. We have no right to play with that,” he adds. Because in a world where the dream often goes faster than the path that leads there, the real challenge is perhaps not to promise Europe to a hundred young people, but to not abandon the ten who have already crossed the door.
Between Dakar and Spain, Habib Babacar Ladiane does not only want to open a passage to Europe. He wants to build a bridge for players, but also for coaches, cities, businesses and territories. The dream is still there, intact. The difference is that he now has a route. The bridge is launched, it remains to be proven that it will hold.
Samba Oumar FALL
