Ouagadougou: Former football international and former resident of the Étalons, Saïdou Mady Panandétiguiri, announced his candidacy to lead the Northern Football League (LNF), whose election is scheduled for the July 24th. We approached him to talk to us about his motivation for running for the position of president of the NFL, his ambitions and his plans for the development of the king sport in the Northern region. Read instead.

AIB: The news that is making headlines in Ouahigouya is the elections counting for the appointment of a new president of the Northern Football League. We learned that you were a candidate, can you tell us your motivations?

Saïdou Mady Panandétiguiri (SMP): What motivated me to apply for the Northern League is the fact that I have a club called AFP, Association Football Panandétiguiri. I created this club to bring my experience to youth and football in the Northern region. That’s what motivated me the most because, you know, “kids” need to have competitive opportunities. So I told my
self that I could bring my experience and my experience in football. This is what motivated me to submit my candidacy for the presidency of the Northern League.

AIB: If by chance you are elected, what are your plans to develop football in the region, especially when we know that the provincial team, USY, has declined considerably?

SMP: If we are elected, there are five areas on which we will work. First of all, there is basic training. Then, we will try to work so that the Northern region has infrastructures for the practice of sport, while placing particular emphasis on the training of coaches. We will work on training educators, physical trainers and sports medicine, and organize competitions for young people and seniors. We will also develop women’s football. Concerning the region’s flagship team, the Union Sportive du Yatenga (USY), we have a project that we are going to implement. It must also be said that there are three clubs in the second division: AS Téma-Bokin, AS Eco and USY, which is the flagshi
p team in the region. We will work to ensure that there is a team each year that we will support so that this team can move up to the first division (D1). For example, during our 4-year mandate, we will do everything so that there are at least 2 clubs in D1. This desire on our part is explained by the fact that, when you do not have a club in the first division, your voice does not count at the level of the Burkinabè Football Federation. Today, we do not have anyone who can raise their voice in the meetings, in the AGMs of the Federation, quite simply because we do not have teams in the first division and that really constitutes a very big problem. handicap for the region. Our goal is to work towards having at least two teams in the premier division during our term.

Source: Burkina Information Agency