Senegal U-17 manager Saliou Dia stated that the country’s victory at the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations was down to long-term investment in football in the West African country.
The Teranga Cubs defeated Morocco 2-1 in Friday’s final in Algiers to make it the fifth consecutive CAF international competition the West African country has won in the past year after success in the Africa Cup of Nations, Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations, African Nations Championship and U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.
Dia thanked his coaches for the work put in developing the young players and was pleased with the comeback spirit from his players.
“I am really delighted for this victory. I want to thank the coaches and the Academies as well as training centres who worked hard to prepare these players to have such kind of a performance. This is work and investment that started many years back and now the fruits are here,” Dia said after the final.
“We played against a very strong team. Conceding first made the match very difficult but I think we should have been more cautious. We managed to regroup and dominated possession of the ball especially in the second half. It gave us a result and I am happy that the players gave a good fight and never gave up.”
THE LIONS OF TERANGA HAVE STRUCK GOLD ????
Senegal claim their first ever #TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 title ???????????? pic.twitter.com/6ueaqGF5J6
— #TotalEnergiesAFCONU17 2023 ???? (@CAF_Online) May 19, 2023
The Teranga Cubs next task will be at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup kicking off on November 10 in a yet-to-be-named host country after original hosts Peru were stripped of their hosting rights.
