On Saturday, April 29, 2023, in Algeria, the 15th U-17 Africa Cup of Nations got underway.
In the second iteration of the competition, which featured three groups of twelve teams instead of eight, South Sudan was disqualified.
Serigne Fallou Diouf scored the only goal for Senegal in its opening Group A game against the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers.
Amara Diouf, the nugget of Generation Foot Football Academy and captain of the Senegal U-17 team, was named man of the match in the first game, and the Dakar native carries Senegal’s hopes in this CAN U17, where his team is far from a favourite.
Amara Diouf was accepted into the prestigious Generation Foot Academy in 2017. He was spotted by Generation Foot coaches at the age of ten during the Danone Nations Cup in France, where he must demonstrate his leadership to bring in a Senegalese selection that has been heavily decimated since the CAF U-17 tournament in Mauritania.
Despite his young age, Amara Diouf already has a reputation as a serial scorer; on February 24, 2023, Generation Foot won the Mohammed VI international U19 tournament in Morocco.
Generation Foot Football Academy defeated Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, then Mohammed VI Academy in the semi-finals, before winning the final 1-0 on a “Clutch” goal from Amara Diouf late in the game.
In a post-match press conference, Amara Diouf stated that his team worked hard for a win after a difficult battle against the Central African team in the first game of the CAF U-17 championship.
Diouf declared, “I am delighted to have been awarded man of the match, and more so because we achieved a good victory against Congo.” Diouf stated, “It was a tough game, but we managed to work for a win.”
