KOUYATE LEAVES SENEGAL’S AFCON CAMP AFTER HIS FATHER’S TRAGIC DEATH
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Nottingham Forest defender Cheikhou Kouyate has left Senegal’s AFCON squad following the death of his father.
The 34-year-old was forced to leave the camp following his father Bangiougou’s passing on Tuesday, and will attend his funeral in Senegal’s capital Dakar on Wednesday afternoon.
In a statement released by Senegal’s football federation, the team offered their condolences with ‘regret and deep pain’ to the national team veteran in the wake of the sad news.
‘The president of the Senegalese Football Federation Mr Augustin Senghor, the members of the executive committee, the coach of the national football team Mr Aliou Cisse, the players of the national football team and the football family have the regret and deep pain to inform you of the death of Mr Bangiougou Kouyate, father of Cheikhou Kouyate, member of the Senegal national team,’ their statement read.
‘His death occurred this Tuesday, January 16, in Dakar. The funeral is planned for Wednesday January 17 at the Khar Yalla mosque followed by the burial at the Musalman cemetery in Yoff.
‘In this painful circumstance, the Senegalese Football Federation presents its most saddened condolences to Cheikhou Kouyate who was also authorized to leave the national team gathering today, to go to the funeral in Dakar.’
Kouyate – who is attending his fifth AFCON with the national team – was an unused substitute during the titleholder’s opening tie against Gambia, which saw the Lions of Teranga swipe a 3-0 victory.
The defender is the team’s vice-captain, and has garnered 90 caps for the side.
It is unknown whether the Premier League player will be available for selection by Aliou Cisse for the team’s next group stage match, which sees them face Cameroon on Friday afternoon.
The loss of his father is likely to be deeply felt by Kouyate, who in 2018 described him as his most committed fan.
‘My dad watches every game I play,’ the then-Crystal Palace player shared. ‘Every time, if I play well, he’ll say, “no, no, you played badly,” and every time I play badly, he’ll say “yeah, you played bad.’
‘But (his criticism) is good, he wants me every time to push myself. He tells my mother, “if I tell our son he’s playing good, he’ll go and do nothing!”. I like that he pushes me everyday to work hard.
‘Everything I do on the field, I want to do my best for my Dad.’
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