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Olympique de Marseille celebrated the place of the African continent in its history Sunday, December 8, during the match against Bordeaux. Some legends of the Sky and White such as Abedi Pelé, Mamadou Niang and Djamel Belmadi were highlighted. The Olympian club has also formalized a new partnership with the Diambars Institute in Senegal.
France loves African football and the continent more generally. Last spring, Clermont Foot , a Ligue 2 resident, announced partnerships with JS Kabylie and Tout Puissant Mazembe. On 4 December, PSG contracted with Rwanda for a " powerful partnership " to promote tourism in the country.
This Sunday, December 8, it is the Olympique de Marseille that celebrates its history with African football and binds with a flagship of the round ball in Senegal: the Diambars Institute.
The cloakroom is ready ✅
Our Olympians will wear a #OMAfrica badge on the occasion of # OMFCGB 😍🌍 pic.twitter.com/35xYPiWRxa
Legends invited to federate the Marseillais in Africa
On the occasion of the match of the 17th day of the championship of France against the Girondins de Bordeaux, OM launched its operation called "OM Africa", a program whose objective is, in the words of the club, to " bring closer and federate its supporters on the African continent . And the Phoceans have all planned to make this match against Bordeaux a celebration of ties between Marseille and Africa.
The club has invited many of its former players, African or African-related, to attend the meeting. Burkinabe Charles Kaboré, Senegalese Souleymane Diawara, Pape Fall and Mamadou Niang, Cameroonian Stéphane Mbia, Nigerian Taye Taïwo were present.
#OMAFRICA 💙🌍 pic.twitter.com/qpjKT7ZAzQ
Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) December 8, 2019Two of the biggest names in the history of OM have also responded to the invitation: the Ghanaian Abedi Pelé, who is also the father of Andre and Jordan Ayew, also passed by the Olympian house, and the Franco-Ivorian Basile Boli, born in Abidjan and French international 45 times. In Marseille, nobody has forgotten that it is on a corner of the first that the second scored the goal of victory in the 1993 Champions League against AC Milan (1-0), which is still today the only French victory in the most prestigious European competitions.
Belmadi presented the CAN to the Phocaean city
Last guest of honor: Djamel Belmadi . The former midfielder, trained at PSG but OM player in the early 2000s, did not come alone. The Algerian coach was accompanied by the trophy of the African Cup of Nations 2019 , won last July with the Fennecs against Senegal in Egypt. He had it under his arm when he kicked off a match in which OM jerseys wore an OM Africa crest.
" It's wonderful to come back to the Velodrome. It reminds me of very good memories. And to come back with this trophy, for the Algerian community, it's a lot of pride and pleasure, "said Djamel Belmadi at the microphone of Canal Plus.
يا زينك يالبطل ويا الكحلوشة! 💙
مذ ا كر مر مر مآي #
OM and Diambars unite
Next to this match marked "OM Africa", the club has also taken a step in its international development with the formalization of a partnership with the Diambars Institute, the famous training center created in 2003 in Senegal by Saër Seck, Jimmy Adjovi-Bocco, Bernard Lama and Patrick Vieira. A school that has become " a reference in the world of football in terms of detection, training and coaching players, " insists OM. Several footballers passed by Diambars have become professionals, including Kara Mbodji, Papa Ndiaye Souaré or Idrissa Gana Gueye , the current midfielder of PSG.
" Today, the Diambars Institute has a sports-studies section and a professional Senegalese first division team ," recalls Marseille. The new partnership, the fruit of two years of work , was signed by OM President Jacques-Henri Eyraud, as well as Saër Seck and Jimmy Adjovi-Bocco. Both clubs plan to set up two-way exchanges with the aim of " improving the support of elite players " and developing skills.
At AFP, Jacques-Henri Eyraud said that the partnership is spread over three years. " But I think it will last well over three years, " he said. And in addition to the scheduled exchanges between OM and Diambars, the Olympian club will, according to Saer Seck, " a priority option on two players " of the academy each season.
" It is a great satisfaction to be able to associate with the OM, which represents a lot for the Senegalese and African public. We grew up around the exploits of Olympique Marseille and in particular its success in the Champions League. This partnership will give the Institute a healthy renewal , "says Saer Seck, president of Diambars, at the Marseilles site.