This is a blow for the Senegalese sports diplomacy. Senegal has lost the presidency of the COP10 of the International Convention against Doping in Sport, organised from 20 to 22 October at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. According to L’Observateur, the Minister of Sports Khady Diène Gaye, official candidate of Senegal, was beaten by the Azerbaijani Farid Gayibov, who won by 80 votes against 62. This result put an end to the Senegalese era at the head of this important global body for regulation and cooperation in the field of sport, which the country chaired until now. According to information from the quotidien du Groupe Futurs Médias, this defeat was due in large part to a late and controversial decision to replace Matar Bâ, the outgoing president and natural candidate for his own succession, by Khady Diène Gaye, only a month after the vote. This last-minute change would have “broken the diplomatic dynamic and the alliances built up over the years”. “If he had presented himself, Matar Bâ would have been unanimously re-elected”, a diplomatic source in Paris told L’Observateur. The withdrawal of the incumbent president, considered to be respected and well known in international sports networks, would have “broken a consensus” that guaranteed Senegal a quasi-assured re-election. The loss of this presidency is not just an administrative episode: it marks a symbolic retreat of Senegal in the world sports instances.
COP10: Senegal loses its presidency and faces a new diplomatic setback
