Senegal’s President Macky Sall on Tuesday rewarded the national football team the Teranga Lions with plots of land, National Honours as well as cash prizes, following the Terenga Lions victory in the 2021 African Cup of Nations, AFCON in Cameroon on Sunday.
The event took place at the presidential palace in the capital Dakar.
President Sall also appointed team members to the West African country’s prestigious Order of the Lion, as thousands of fans cheered outside the gates.
“By your vital force and your creative genius, you have reversed the course of history,” the president said, standing on a podium beside the Cup of Nations trophy.
“We dreamed of the cup, you built this dream and you made it come true,” he added.
Led by Liverpool superstar Sadio Mane, Senegal overcame Mohamed Salah’s Pharaohs of Egypt 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out in Sunday’s final at the magnificent 60,000 seater Stade de Olembe, Yaounde in Cameroon. The game had finished goalless after extra time.
The victory marked Senegal’s first success after over fifty years of fielding teams in the tournament and sparked jubilant celebrations across Dakar on Sunday.
Hundreds of thousands of ecstatic fans also flooded the streets of the city of three million people on Monday — which the government had declared a public holiday — to greet the team as it returned from Cameroon.
On Tuesday, the President announced a prize of the equivalent of some $87,000 for each team member, as well as a 200 square-metre (2,100 square-foot) plot of land in Dakar, and a 500 square-metre (5,400 square-foot) plot in the nearby city of Diamniadio.
“There are no words to express you to our pride, our joy and our gratitude,” Sall said.
The president also urged Senegal coach Aliou Cisse to lead his team to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, to be hosted by Qatar in November.
Meanwhile, President Paul Biya of Cameroon has send a congratulated the people and Government of Senegal for the victory of its National team at AFCON.
The 88 year old leader said, the Teranga Lions were worthy winners and true ambassadors.
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