Senegal’s World Cup is hanging by a thread after comedy of errors on and off pitch

A s the most successful president in Fédération Sénégalaise de Football (FSF) history, Augustin Senghor was looking forward to overseeing the Lions of Teranga’s World Cup campaign, after doing the same for those in Russia and Qatar. But the 60-year-old lawyer, who doubles as the mayor of Gorée island – the point from where large numbers of Africans were shipped to the Americas during the transatlantic slave trade – surprisingly lost his job in last August’s FSF elections. “After losing the election I decided to stay quiet and not talk too much about football, to allow the new administration to take charge, with my cooperation and full support,” Senghor told the Guardian. His achievements and the largely professional manner in which the FSF was led during his presidency have become a talking point in Senegal as the comedy of errors in governance by the new FSF administration, led by Abdoulaye Fall, comes to light. Pape Thiaw, the head coach of Senegal, had been without an employment contract since February and was also owed five months of unpaid wages, which led him to refuse to travel to the United States for the World Cup until Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Senegal’s president, intervened. “When this situation happened, Pape called me to discuss it,” said Senghor. “I told him that he had to focus on the assignment for our nation and not be distracted. Seeing our nation do well is what is more important. …