Interviews

TRAORE Aya

Senegal International player

25 Feb 2010

Great memories of the African Cup

Let's come back to the event of the CAN which took place last October. It's been a while that Senegal wanted to bring back the Cup home and you finally did it?
Yes, thanks God we did finally. It has been a long for us to wait. After our loss in the championship game in our home town in Dakar two years ago, we were very disappointed about ourselves and felt like we had something to prove. We were very hungry to win the African Cup and I am glad we finally won the Cup.

What was the team's state of mind before the beginning of the competition?
Before the competition we had only one goal in mind; to win the gold medal. We did not settle for anything less and we knew that we were capable of winning it if we had the right mind set. We were at the francophone games in Lebanon right before the African Championship and we did not know our level, because we did not have a lot of background. But we really surprised ourselves by making it all the way in the championship game. Unfortunately, we lost the game and won the silver medal, but we felt like we really prepared ourselves by playing tough games against tough teams. That definitely helped us to raise our self-confidence and we were also confident that if we played the way we were supposed to, then we could be really successful.

What was the atmosphere in the team during the competition?
The atmosphere in the team was really good and so was the chemistry. We were all motivated and dedicated to win the tournament. We had great cohesion.

You won the final, of course, you were far from your country. How did the fans welcome you at the airport in Dakar?
Words alone cannot explain our feelings when we got back home to the airport. We had a lot of members of the government at the airport to show their support. During the competition we knew that a lot of Senegalese people were watching us. I can say that Basketball is the second biggest sport in Senegal after soccer. Before we even got off the plane, we could already see through the windows all the media and the people outside waiting and cheering. It was very emotional and it was definitely a dream come true. We had a parade around the town and it was very surprising to see that many people follow us and really appreciate what we did. Everyone went out of their houses and cars waiting, applauding and congratulating us. The younger ones followed our bus all the way around. The whole experience was fun and I am thankful that I was a part of it. We have memories that will be cherished forever.

Did you have good media coverage?
Yes, the media coverage was good. The games were broadcast live back home and all the media groups (newspaper, radio, TV) had only one thing to focus on: to talk about "Les Lionnes du Basket du Senegal", the Senegalese women's basketball team.

And above all , you were named the MVP of the competition, what a consecration?
It is definitely a Blessing and an honour and I am very humble about it. I will take team trophies over any individual accolades. Our main goal was to win the championship first then, anything else that comes along the way is a plus. I am very happy about the accolade and at the same time I am glad that we were able to win the tournament and become the African Champions.