SADIO MANE: AFRICAN EXCELLENCE ON AND OFF THE PITCH

The 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony was unparalleled in every sense of it. Despite being the 66th
edition of the global event, on the night, the world was delivered a containerful of several firsts.
For the first time in history, the award unfastened itself from the grip of the Gregorian calendar
and obliged the European season calendar. With Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane and Kevin De Bruyne finishing top three, it was the first time since 2007 that none of the topmost headliners of
the GOAT debate made it to the final three. Ultimately, Sadio Mane, for his humanitarian
achievements, became the inaugural winner of the Socrates award and for the first time, the
grand stage saw a male awardee walk up with an outfit other than suits, blazers and tuxedos:
Mane showed up donning a grey Senegalese Kaftan.
For Africans, Mane’s choice was more than just an outfit; it was a prideful identity, the Voice of
Africa – as Mane was the only African awardee – and a missive of hope to millions of Africans,
that from the third world, Africa can be celebrated on a global stage. Beyond the dividends
Africa pocketed from Mane’s appearance, the outfit was a culmination of a season-long practice
of heroism. Him choosing to promote his African culture and wear a never-before-worn outfit on
that stage was a revelation of his preoccupation over the past European season: he had dared
never-before-dared humanitarian feats in Africa. And it was just right he bagged a novel award.
The courage it took to appear different from the rest of the world wasn’t just remarkable, but was
also a testament of the strength of Sadio Mane’s connection to his African roots. Beyond being
African, Sadio Mane’s life is a prototype of the travails of the average African on his journey to
success–-little wonder he loves to make narratives out of his appearances, as we see with his
Kaftan suit.While Kaftans, being variants of robes or tunics, are believed to have first appeared in ancient
Mesopotamia and are worn across several cultures in Asia, Europe and Africa, the Senegalese
Kaftan has its home in West Africa and has evolved a great deal to catch up with global fashion
trends.
From being the ankle-length, bell-like sleeved attire it used to be years ago, it has been fine-
tuned into a mid-crotch length, pipe-like sleeved suit called a Kaftan suit, whose best company
is the Kufi cap – as for Mane’s choice, he had left Liverpool at the time and could now walk
alone. Despite the length of the Kaftan evolving to become shorter, its influence has, over the
years, grown far beyond the shores of West Africa. Today, the Kaftan suit is, in the African-
American world of the United States, equivalent to the tuxedo, and is one of three formal suits
grooms select for their weddings.
For his humanitarian excellence in Senegal, the inaugural Socrates Award was enough
accolade for Mane; however, his persistent hunger saw him replicate his African impact on the
pitch, with him leading the Senegalese national team to AFCON glory in 2021. Winning his

second African Player of the Year Award just months before the Ballon d’Or ceremony, Sadio Mane’s career has been an upward swim from the hadal zones of Senegal to the shores of
global stardom.

With Senegal being a third world country, the village of Bambali, where Mane is from, was the
Nazareth of Senegal: no one thought any good could come out of it. In essence, it was a third
world village in a third world country. Yet, amidst such adversity, his determination saw him soar
against the winds.
A ball and a pair of boots in Bambali were so luxurious that Mane could only afford his barefoot
and makeshift balls crafted from rags to hone his skill. Regardless, as a 15-year old, he took a
bold step outside the Senegalese trenches to Dakar, hoping for a chance to join the Generation
Football Academy. His courage paid off, and from there, his European career kicked off, as he
soon got noticed by FC Metz in France. Though life in Europe didnt start off on the best note,
his travails in Africa had instilled resilience in him.
In no time, he left FC Metz for RB Salzburg, and Salzburg for Southampton, where he first
flickered on the global stage by beating Robbie Fowler’s record of 4 minutes, 33 seconds, and
setting a record of 2 minutes, 56 seconds to become the scorer of the fastest hattrick in Premier
league history. A year later, the Senegalese forward joined the red arm of Merseyside, where he
won all local and international club trophies, topping them with numerous individual awards:
EPL Golden boot, PFA Fans’ Player of the Year, African Player of the Year x2 and the Socrates
Award.
While he moved to Bayern Munich and Al Nassr afterwards, his sojourn in Liverpool marked the
peak of his on-field career; however, his off-field achievements have been too endless, too
impactful and too consistent to experience a downward slope. With a mission to give back to his
community, Mane is single-handedly transforming Bambali from a desolate Senegalese village
to a developing town.
The Al Nassr winger, having built a standard school, a hospital and a mosque in his village, is
even more committed to building lives. Thanks to the Senegalese saviour, each family gets a
monthly stipend of about 70 pounds, students of the secondary school get laptops and other
prizes based on their performance and football talents in Senegal have a worthy stadium to
hone their skills.
When it was time to be crowned, in a gathering where the winner of football’s most prestigious
individual award and the leading light of the night was an African with an European identity
(Karim Benzema), Sadio Mane put Africa where it belonged. In the wilderness of Bambali grew
a sequoia that, with its deeds, its feet on the turf and its majestic appearance, announced Africa
to the world again.