After the beach clean-up on 8 June, the reward came in the form of a tournament among the teams of the different soccer schools in Hann on 12 June, organised as in previous years by the ‘Amicale Foot’, the alliance of 12 soccer schools: Maison Foot, Challenge Foot, Sélection de Hann Centre, Centre de Perfectionnement de Hann (CPH), Club de l’Amitié, Top11, Gouney Fary, Gouney Bira, Gouney Montagne, Vision Foot, Ecole Mamadou Teuw, Mame Rokhaya.

Because of the large number of teams and the strong interest of the public, the partially eroded beach did not offer enough space to accommodate all. The venue of the tournament was therefore moved to Tableau Ferraille, the soccer ground about 300 m inland from Hann Bay. To the right you see ‘La tribune’ – the display of prizes and seated sponsors and key organisers.

The president of the ‘Amicale Foot’, Maguette Diop, headed the team of trainers and club leaders who had joined forces upon the invitation of Mundus maris Senegal represented by Aliou Sall.

 

All teams were highly motivated and the mostly young spectators were equally keen to know, who would be winning the three trophy cups, 12 much coveted leather balls and other prizes provided by Mundus maris Senegal for successful teams in three different age groups.

Because of the large number of teams, the tournament started with several knock-out rounds. The first ones started end May, the last one on 11 June.

The finals took place Sunday, 12 June, between the following six teams:

a) Maison Foot versus Centre de Perfectionnement de Hann in the age group of 17 years, called ‘cadets’,

b) Sélection de Hann Centre versus Challenge Foot in the age group of 15 years, called ‘minimes’,

c) Gouney Bira versus Club de l’Amitié in the age group of 13 years, called ‘benjamins’.

The arbiters made sure the rules were respected and all trainers were at the side of their teams to make them give their best for the ocean and the recognition by the public.

After the presentation of the trophies, the floor was given to Babacar Ciss who, on behalf of the Amicale, thanked Mundus maris for the sustained effort without which this celebration could not have taken place.

On this occasion, he wished that the next editions be extended to soccer schools from fishing communities such as Thiaroye, Mbao and Yoff as guests.

Mr Ciss made a retrospective of the various past initiatives with Mundus maris, emphasizing that after so many editions have taken place, this activity is now included in the agenda of the community and thus has become like a ritual which the sportsmen and the inhabitants of the communities expect to happen every June.

In closing, the vice-president of Mundus maris congratulated Mr Ciss for his sustained commitment to this innovative collaboration between Mundus maris and the sports community with the specific objective to use a mass sport like soccer for environmental awareness. He then reiterated the commitment of Mundus maris to continue to give support in this direction so that we can together with the community of Hann play our part to protect the ocean in the face of the various risks to which it is exposed. For this, he insisted on the need to carry out large-scale awareness actions at the community level to fight against pollution in Hann Bay.