With phones firmly in hand, the competitors maintain intense focus. In just a few hours, they will participate in the crucial qualifiers for the eFootball World Cup, the world’s most played mobile football game, scheduled for November in Riyadh. Ibrahima Diop, widely known as Ibzo, the national team coach, delivers his final strategic advice to the squad. He has assembled the country’s elite players; his team notably achieved the top position in the African rankings for the first time last March. Being a free-to-play game, eFootball has now surpassed the popularity of console-based productions.

“It’s primarily about enjoyment,” shares Mohamed, also known as Medzo, a 17-year-old who traveled from Saint-Louis specifically for these qualifiers. “There’s a strong competitive spirit. We challenge each other, saying, ‘You won’t beat me.’ It’s also incredibly easy to play. Crucially, you don’t need an expensive phone. While consoles are costly, a simple phone with 3GB RAM is enough to join in. Senegalese players are skilled, numerous, and exceptionally focused during gameplay.”

This young enthusiast dreams of a professional career, a sentiment echoed by Pape Mouhamed Saloum Sow, a law student. “I aspire to reach the highest level of competition. I believe eFootball has evolved beyond just a game. We met here as strangers and have now become like a family.”

Server Challenges

However, these talented Senegalese players must contend with several significant disadvantages. Firstly, on TikTok, the platform where they share analyses and strategic insights, content monetization is not yet available in Africa, unlike in Europe or the United States. More critically, they face persistent connection issues that put them at a disadvantage against many international opponents. “Here in Senegal, we constantly encounter server problems,” Ibzo explains. “Across Africa, there’s only one server, located in South Africa. This causes immense frustration due to severe latency. You make a pass, and it can take what feels like two minutes for the action to register.”

To further develop the sector, Ibzo established his own dedicated club. He also benefits from the support of the national electronic sports federation, Fesseda, which was founded two years ago. “We have signed an agreement to implement what we call ‘e-navétanes,’” details its president, El Hadji Mansour Jacques Sagna. “This initiative will enable a large number of young people to participate in organized competitions across the national territory.” The federation also announced the upcoming launch of an e-sport analysis and performance center, to be housed at the Léopold-Sédar-Senghor stadium, designed to support the professionalization of the discipline.