INTRODUCTION:

Senegal. Summer of 2001. Olivier Monlouis roams the country DV camera in hand. He has set out to capture on video the heart of Senegalese football: the Navetanes, the grass-roots championship that takes place during the country’s four-month long monsoon season. Come join the football schools and the neighbourhood teams and meet the people who share a common passion for what they call "le foot". For this is not just another simple sporting activity in Senegal. Due in large part to the sporting associations that dot the entire country, football has become nothing less than a means of social integration on a national level.

THE FILM:

14 July 2001. This historic date becomes forever engraved in the minds of the Senegalese people when the Senegalese football team beats Morocco and, for the first time in their history, qualifies their country for the World Cup. Senegal erupts in jubilation under the seasonal deluge of the monsoon.

Nevertheless, the soul of football in Senegal draws its true strength far from the grandstands and the television cameras. It is during this rainy season, from June to September, that Senegal really lives and breathes football. On the beaches, in the streets, in the countryside, the heart of Senegal beats to the rhythm of a football. Every village, every neighbourhood, prepares for the Navetanes: some lace up their football cleats others transform themselves into groups of die-hard supporters.

Every victory is cause for celebration and every defeat a heartfelt tragedy. What’s at stake is nothing less than the honour of the neighbourhood for the whole year to come… until the next Navetanes.

Not unusual then that the World Cup slot should inflame the spirit of each and everybody in this country of 8 million. Ask anyone you meet here their prediction and you’ll get a different answer every time. But look at them closely as they speak; you’ll see that same football-shaped dream there, glittering in their eyes.

 

EPILOG:

The people of Senegal aren’t satisfied with simply dreaming of football. In the Summer of 2002, their team sets passions ablaze by qualifying for the World Cup.

On May 31, 2002, the Senegalese national team beats France, the reigning world champions, 1 — 0 in the opening match of the World Cup.

In their first World Cup, the Lions Of Senegal go on to reach the quarter finals.

A feat that fills eight million hearts with pride for their Lions.

Isabelle Baudiment
(translated by Jaime Peschiera)