THE final match of the 2019 Total AFCON is also a game between supporters of the Teranga Lions and those of Les Fennecs at the Cairo International Stadium.
Faced with the Algerian tidal wave announced in the stands, the National Association of supporters of Senegal national team will be there to support the Lions.
Apart from the Pharaohs’ fans whose team were eliminated, it is Les Fennecs who beat the record crowd in the stadiums for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
For today’s final, “le 12ème Gaindé” (the National Association of supporters of Senegal national team) will not want to be outdone and feels ready to challenge the Algerian fans.
To get there, le 12ème Gaindé president, Seydina Issa Laye Diop, who is in Cairo with a group of supporters, said that the association is organised locally in Egypt and through the relay in Senegal.
But, he insisted that le 12ème Gaindé joined the Lions of Senegal from the third group match with initially a contingent of 40 supporters before 30 others came later.
And to note that about 500 Senegalese live in Cairo magnifies the group in every game.
For the final, President Seydina Issa Laye Diop remains convinced that the President of the Republic Macky Sall, first “le 12ème Gaindé”, who has always responded to their solicitation, will invest once again so that many Senegalese could come to push Sadio Mané and his partners in the continental coronation.
Diop noted that Les Fennecs will not only play against the Teranga Lions, but against 16 million Senegalese starting with first le 12ème Gaindé President Macky Sall.
He recalled that one day after Senegal qualified to this AFCON, the association has put in place a strategy to mobilise the people behind the national team and also funds to move le 12ème Gaindé to Egypt.
A “Go Senegal” mobilisation platform was created with the slogan “Unite to Win”. For lack of means, all le 12ème Gaindé who wanted to go to Egypt had to pay the sum of 200 thousand FCFA (around 400 dollars).
Thanks to the mobilisation of a few resources, each Gaindé cost the association the sum of 1,600,000 FCFA (about 3,200 dollars) including the visa, plane ticket, accommodation, catering, internal transport and entrance tickets to the stadium.
Diop confides that it is the Ministry of Sports who took charge.
He does not venture to give a figure on the number of le 12ème Gaindé that will be in the stands of the Cairo International Stadium, but he said that they has been on the podium of the FIFA awards for best supporters in 2018, and that the Teranga Lions have the best FIFA rankings in Africa.
Before concluding that, “in all cases, we are superior to Algeria and we must fight to be ahead. We have nothing to fear.” – CAF Online
