French expertise for sport development in Senegal

The fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will be held in 2026 in Dakar, in Senegal. It is the first time that an Olympic event will take place in Africa. Meanwhile, France will be hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games (OPG) in Paris in 2024. With these two events being held within a short timeframe, there is an opportunity for enhanced cooperation around them. Beyond the close relations between the organization committees and the host cities, the aim is to give impetus to a French-Senegalese dynamic to professionalize the sports sector.

The project aims to strengthen the partnership between the OL and the Dakar Sacré Cœur club. It is based on two main components: 

• Technical cooperation and the provision of expertise to support the implementation of the Dakar Sacré Cœur development program. The three key areas of this expertise concern: i) the development of women’s football, ii) the long-term structuring of the club; and iii) the strengthening of technical cooperation and professionalization of sporting careers
• Studies for the realization of the club expansion projects. Various initiatives are planned, including the introduction of a sport-study program, the deployment of multi-sport equipment, and the creation of an institute dedicated to sporting professions  

• Support for the development of structural football projects to foster sports excellence in Africa;
• Promotion of women’s football to encourage parity in the clubs and promote equal opportunities;
• Adaptation of the Olympique Lyonnais (OL) methodology for the benefit of its various partner clubs, by mobilizing experts from the OL Academy to support emerging talent;
• Contribution to building local expertise to ensure the sustainability of the economic models of the clubs and enhance their long-term benefits;
• Improvement in training conditions and promotion of access to sport by developing high-quality facilities and stimulating investment in the sports sector.