On the long beach of Yoff, in Dakar, about thirty young surfers line up facing the ocean. Board under his arm, Sokhna, 11, is ready to pounce to catch the best wave. “I want to become a surfing champion”says the young girl, who comes to train here two or three times a week.
This June 18, International Surfing Day, a competition open to all is organized by the Senegalese federation. “It’s a way to get young surfers used to the rules of international championships”, explains Oumar Sèye, new president of the African Surfing Confederation. This pioneer had already managed to bring to his country, in 2019, a qualifying stage for the world surfing championships. A first in West Africa, which has allowed Senegal to impose itself on the international map of this sport following South Africa and Morocco, the great sliding nations on the continent.
The assets of this country located at the tip of West Africa are numerous: five hours flight from Europe, it is endowed all year round with quality waves on many accessible spots and close to major cities. . A reputation that attracted the Brazilian Italo Ferreira, world champion and first Olympic medalist, who came to train in Dakar in 2021. This visit, like the qualifying stage of the World Surf League, made it possible to “ show international professionals that we do surfing and that we have athletes”underlines Soulaye Mbengue, secretary general of the Senegalese Surfing Federation, created in 2017.
More than 300 licensees
With nine affiliated schools and more than 300 members, Senegalese surfing is booming. But the equipment is expensive and the country lacks boards or wetsuits. “There is no ecosystem on site, so we have to import everything”, notes Soulaye Mbengue. A brake on the professionalization of the discipline, while sponsorship contracts are still rare in the country. These are essential to be able to buy equipment, finance travel and international competitions. So far, only the nine-time champion of Senegal, Chérif Fall (with Billabong), and Ibra Samb (with Volcom) have managed to win the sesame.
Aged 25, Ibra Samb first learned to ride the waves of Ngor, a town in Dakar, on wooden planks from old fishing canoes. It wasn’t until he was 13 that his brother finally bought him a board that belonged to an expat. “My father, who is a fisherman, wanted me to take over because surfing is not well regarded here”, he recalls. The young man now receives a salary thanks to his sponsor, which he supplements with courses given on the beaches of the capital. After competing in several qualifying events for the World Surf League, he hopes to one day compete in the world championships.
But while surfing was inducted as a new sport at the Tokyo Olympics (OG) in 2021, alongside skateboarding, rock climbing and breakdancing, no Senegalese athlete has managed to qualify for the games. Paris in 2024 during an international competition organized in early June in El Salvador. A disappointment for Ismaïla Samb, 20, a rising star in the discipline. “At the moment, I give surf lessons to help my mother and the family. But the goal is to represent Senegal and qualify for the Olympics.aspires the young man, who is still looking for a sponsor to be able to live from his sport.
“Attracting Brands”
He hopes to follow in the footsteps of Oumar Sèye, who was Senegal’s first professional surfer. The latter signed contracts with the board brand Rusty in 1999, then with Salomon and finally Rip Curl, which he still represents today in Dakar. “I’m not the first to surf, but I changed the image of Senegalese surfing”, boasts the 47-year-old businessman who became known as the “Black Surfer”. Elected at the head of the African Surfing Confederation on April 23, he hopes to set up a professional circuit on the continent, “so that African surfers can make a living in Africa”. “It’s up to us to attract brands”he continues, even if the challenge is also to involve the Senegalese private sector.
To reach an international level, young people must also gain experience. “It’s the trips that allow us to improve, because you have to learn to surf different waves, which ‘break’ or ‘tube’, and be ready for all conditions”explains Ibra Samb, adding that Senegalese surfers are not used to sand waves, for example.
The kingpins of the discipline regret that African athletes still too rarely participate in international competitions, for lack of means. “Beyond funding, we also have the problem of freedom to leave the country”, obtaining visas is never guaranteed, regrets Aziz Kane, one of the coaches of the national team. But everyone is keeping the Youth Olympics in their sights, the next edition of which, in 2026, will be held in Dakar.
Summary of our series “Surf, the new African wave”