Senegal

FOOTBALL IN SENEGAL National life in Senegal has been dominated by football since they qualified for theWorld Cup Final in July last year. The qualification helped propel them to the finals of the African Cup of Nations in January this year, which they lost to Cameroon in a penalty shoot-out. Their previous best performance was a berth in the semi-finals of the same competition in 1990. Senegal has qualified seven times for the African Cup of Nations in 1965, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2000 and 2002. THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY Senegal’s economic performance in recent years has been impressive. Average GDP growth from 1997 until 2001 was over 5.0% and inflation fell under 2.0% for most of this period. The current account deficit remains relatively wide at over 6.0% of GDP. The fiscal accounts are well managed, with the budget deficit under 3.0% of GDP. The country’s monetary policy operates within its membership of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, which has an independent central bank responsible for the issuance of the Communaute Financiere Africaine (CFA) Franc, the union’s local currency. However despite the good headline growth numbers, per capita GDP remains low at $500. Furthermore, government debt, which is almost all external, is high at 75% of GDP. The government is expected to continue pursuing structural reforms in order to receive debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative. Standard and Poor’s recently affirmed Senegal’s B+ credit rating. THE STATE OF THE NATION Senegal has long been regarded as a close ally of the west. This has been recently demonstrated by President Abdoulaye Wade’s support for the US’s anti-terrorist crackdown. The country also has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping operations. Internally, the government continues to fight rebels from the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance in Southern Senegal. The movement has been conducting a 20-year separatist rebellion in the Casamance province. The program of economic reform, funded by the international community, has produced very favourable results in recent years. The country nevertheless still faces some serious social problems. However, for the next two months at least their participation for the first time in the World Cup Finals will be the focus of attention. THE 2002 WORLD CUP T his is Senegal’s first World Cup Final; having beaten the favoured Moroccans to top spot in their qualifying group. Their introduction to the Finals could not be more spectacular – they meet the current champions France in the opening Match of the Tournament on May 31st in Seoul. Senegal (or the Lions as they are known) are currently ranked 43rd in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings. Almost all of the national players are based at clubs in Europe, with the majority in France. Their coach Bruno Metsu is also French. Previous Appearances No Previous Appearances