The Dimitri Ndiaye room at the Pedro Gomis stadium in Ziguinchor brought together sports, development and cultural stakeholders, officials from state structures in the field of sports and the economy, around the establishment of a sports industry in Casamance.

For Bouba Sagna, a development actor and initiator of the project, "we have observed that Casamance has a lot of hidden talent at all levels of sport, but there is a problem. Often, sport is somewhat linked to leisure. We said to ourselves that it is time to change. With sport, we can create an economy, create jobs, as many countries have done. Casamance being a laboratory of talent, we must translate this sport into a sports industry that will link all the professions in sport, management, and sport tourism."

According to him, a country that wants to develop needs to invest in its sports industry. And Casamance, which has produced many champions in various disciplines, sees its former stars without any opportunities after their careers. This initiative can solve all these problems, including youth unemployment.

"Sport is an industry. Sport can attract many investors. We have an obligation to translate our ambitions into a strong economy so that young people can work and develop our locality," continued Bouba Sagna.

The regional director of Youth and Sports welcomed this initiative and the inclusive approach of involving all stakeholders, particularly administrative authorities. Ibrahima Diba stated that the Ziguinchor region needs this initiative to be implemented in order to continue developing talent and reaping all the benefits that sports offer.