As the embodiment of sporting leadership on the continent, Amadou Gallo Fall lent a very special significance to the eighteenth stage of the YOG torch relay in Kaolack on october 10.
Selected as a torchbearer, his presence at this public celebration came to symbolise the journey of African sport – capable of nurturing, inspiring and shining on its own soil.
A moving return to his roots
Born in Kaolack, where he spent much of his youth and where his family still lives, the president of the Basketball Africa League made no secret of his emotion at this privilege:
“It’s very moving; I’m deeply honoured. This is my hometown, a very special place for me. Carrying this torch here, in the run-up to the first Olympic Games to be held on African soil, is something that perhaps only happens once in a lifetime.”
A large delegation from the SEED Academy
In 2002, Amadou Gallo Fall founded Africa’s first basketball academy for student-athletes, cementing his status as a pioneer in the development of African sport.
Surrounded by a group of young students from the academy, who had come especially to support their mentor, he was keen to send a strong message to the youth of Senegal and Africa:
“It’s a real pleasure to see all these young people who have come here. These are our Youth Olympic Games, and I hope they motivate and inspire them to aspire to achieve great things. ”
