Senegal FA: National Team Doctor Specializes in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Dakar – Agencies: Abdoulaye Fall, president of the Senegalese Football Federation, stated that the national team’s physician lacked the necessary specialized background to support the squad during the 2026 World Cup in North America, as the federation evaluates the team’s disappointing campaign.
Fall said at a press conference that the team doctor “was trained to become a gynecologist,” noting that this issue was only recently discovered and had raised concerns among players about the level of medical support available.
He added, “Based on the reports I received, the players were not sufficiently reassured about receiving care from him.” Fall continued that the federation sought to bring in additional medical expertise to reassure the team.
“We had to find convincing expertise so they would feel at ease, because health comes first,” Fall concluded.
For its part, the Senegalese Sports Medicine Association rejected these claims in a statement, describing them as “baseless and defamatory.”
The association noted that the national team’s doctor, Abderrahmane Faye Diouf, holds a specialized diploma in sports medicine and sports biology from the Faculty of Medicine at Cheikh Anta Diop University.
Fall also revealed the negative atmosphere surrounding the national team, which followed coach Babacar Tiao’s demand for a salary increase.
“There was a breakdown in trust between Babacar Tiao and us,” he said, pointing to the initial failure to sign a new contract after Tiao requested a higher salary.
Eventually, both parties reached an agreement worth 30 million CFA francs during the World Cup period, and other disputes regarding bonuses were settled.
Fall stated that Tiao had at one point threatened not to travel to the World Cup if his demands were not met, adding that Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye persuaded him to change his stance on the day the team departed for the United States.
Fall clarified that the contract was signed on the eve of the team’s second World Cup match against Norway, after Tiao refused to sit on the bench unless the agreement was finalized.
He added that Tiao believed “the federation officials were his enemies,” which had an impact on the national team’s operations.
Tiao, 45, a former Senegalese international, took charge of the national team in 2024. He was dismissed after the team’s exit in the Round of 32 at the hands of Belgium, 2-3.
During the World Cup, the “Teranga Lions” suffered two group stage defeats against France and Norway, before securing a convincing 5-0 victory over Iraq to qualify for the knockout stages.
Under Tiao’s leadership, Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations title last January, before being stripped of the trophy as punishment for walking off the pitch during the chaotic final against Morocco in Rabat.
