In Senegal, Olympic surfing dreams were crushed amid lack of funding

The Senegalese have, for years, been the poster child of the cascading effects of surfing’s Olympic inclusion. Since surfing was approved as a sport in the Games, the Senegalese national team was able to access government funds to travel and compete among the world’s best at the ISA World Surfing Games. Their colorful outfits, painted bodies, and booming drums became a staple of the event’s international melting pot. 

However, at this year’s edition of the World Surfing Games, the final Olympic qualifier in Puerto Rico, the unmistakable vibrance of Senegal’s surfers was noticeably absent. The government funds that have supported their participation in the event since 2017 have vanished. There were no Senegalese surfers competing in the event. 

Cherif Fall, a 27-year-old surfer from Senegal’s capital, Dakar, has for years been leading the charge for Senegalese surfing. He placed a more-than-respectable 16th at the 2022 World Surfing Games and was even invited to the 2023 Vans Pipe Masters. After training in Hawaii and California – where he now calls home for much of the year – he returned to Senegal to get in some surfing ahead of the final Paris 2024 qualifier. However, about a week before the event was set to kick off, he realized something was amiss. Senegal’s national surfing federation was denied funding by the Ministry of Sport. It was too late to search for alternative sources of funding. His and his compatriots’ dreams of earning an Olympic slot were crushed. READ MORE FROM THE INERTIA