Invited to the 7th Congress of the AIPS (International Association of Sports Press) zone Africa to host a panel on «the use of local expertise within national teams», the national selector Aliou Cissé, answered questions from African journalists. The «Lions» coach says he is ready to bring back another African Nations Cup (CAN).
After winning the CAN and qualifying Senegal in the last 16 of the World Cup, the «Lions» coach is aiming to qualify for the CAN 2024 in Côte d’Ivoire.
The question is what I will continue or not. A lot of people ask themselves whether I am worn out or tired. No, I’m not worn out and I’m not tired. We are preparing our list for March to defend our title and bring back a second African Cup trophy here. So yes we are ready to do our utmost to bring this team back as far as possible», said Aliou Cissé.
El Tactico does not close the door on local players.
» There is only one national team, it is open to all football players in Senegal. There is no distinction between U17 and U20; it’s the level that counts. The championship also counts the level. I just got out of the World Cup and believe me, level is something else. Our goal today is to push our traditional clubs to push our training centers to train players and especially to be able to bring them to clubs where they can have the level to play the World Cup said the 2022 Africa champion.
