Lutte Traditionnelle (fr. for Traditional Wrestling) is a style of West African folk wrestling, known as Laamb in Senegal, Boreh in The Gambia, Evala [1] in Togo, and KoKowa / Kokawa in Hausa areas of Nigeria and Niger, or simply Lutte Traditionnelle, in Niger and Burkina Faso. International competition takes place during the Jeux de la Francophonie and the newly organised Championship of African Lutte Traditionnelle.
Since the 1950s, a number of West African traditions have been assimilated into Lutte Traditionnelle as it has become a major spectator sport and cultural event. The major variation has become Laamb, or Senegalese Wrestling, which allows punching (frappe), the only of the West African traditions to do so. As a larger confederation and championship around Lutte Traditionnelle have developed since the 1990s, Senegalese fighters now practice both forms, called officially Lutte Traditionnelle sans frappe (for the international version) and Lutte Traditionnelle avec frappe for the striking version. [2]
In Nigeria, and Hausa areas of Niger, Kokawa has become regularised to the West African standard. There the striking component has been hived off to a separate boxing event called Dambe. Both are performed on the same traditional ring, though Dambe has become the preserve of traveling cofraternaties of fighters. [3]
Two fighters compete in a circular ring, in more formal events bound by sand bags. Each fighter attempts to eject the other from the ring, though they can win by knocking the other off their feet or onto all fours. [4]
Lutte Traditionnelle has grown in organisation and popularity throughout much of West Africa since the 1980s. Alongside national championships in many nations, several organisations have organised international tournaments, which in turn have necessitated a harmonisation of rules. International competition takes place during the Jeux de la Francophonie and since 2000, is overseen by a coordinating body which organises the African Championship of lutte traditionnelle. In 2008, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) organised its first international championship for Lutte Traditionnelle in Dakar, inviting teams from eleven nations: Senegal, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Gambia, Guinée Bissau, Togo, Liberia and la Côte d'Ivoire. Nigeria won the competition, marking the first time an Anglophone nation (outside the Gambia) has won a major Lutte tourney. [5]
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 17 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo as well as Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The population of West Africa is estimated at about 381 million people as of 2018, and at 381,981,000 as of 2017, of which 189,672,000 are female and 192,309,000 male.
The individual member states of the African Union (AU) coordinate foreign policy through this agency, in addition to conducting their own international relations on a state-by-state basis. The AU represents the interests of African peoples at large in intergovernmental organizations (IGO's); for instance, it is a permanent observer at the United Nations' General Assembly.
A folk wrestling style is any traditional style of wrestling, which may or may not be codified as a modern sport. Most cultures have developed regional forms of grappling.
Stade Général Seyni Kountché (SGSK) is a multi-purpose stadium in Niamey, Niger. Used for football matches, it is home to the Niger national squad, as well as Niger Premier League clubs Sahel SC, Olympic FC de Niamey, Zumunta AC and JS du Ténéré, as well as club competitions such as the Niger Cup. The venue is also sometimes used for rugby union. It is the largest stadium in Niamey, followed by the 10,000-capacity Stade municipal.
The Senegalese Football Federation is the governing body of football in Senegal. It is based in the capital of Senegal, Dakar and was founded in 1960. The FSF aided in the development of football in Senegal, specifically for its professional and amateur leagues, youth and women's football and academies. Currently the FSF oversees the professional leagues, run by the Ligue Sénégalaise de Football Professionnel (LSFP) and fully organises the national teams, youth, women's and amateur football and all football administration.
The cuisine of Senegal is a West African cuisine influenced by North African, French, and Portuguese cuisine and derives from the nation's many ethnic groups, the largest being the Wolof. Islam, which first penetrated the region in the 11th century, also plays a role in the cuisine. Senegal was a colony of France until 1960. Ever since its colonization, emigrants have brought Senegalese cuisine to many other regions.
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Dambe is a martial art of the Hausa people from Nigeria. Competitors in a typical match aim to subdue each other into total submission mostly within three rounds. It often results in serious bodily injuries for the challengers such as broken jaws and ribs. Boxers are called by the Hausa word "daæmaænga".
The Hausa are the largest ethnic group in sub-Saharan Africa with the second most spoken language after Arabic in the Afro-Asiatic language family. The Hausa are a diverse but culturally homogeneous people based primarily in the Sahelian and the sparse savanna areas of southern Niger and northern Nigeria respectively, numbering over 80 million people with significant indigenized populations in Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Chad, Sudan, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Togo, Ghana, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Senegal and the Gambia.
Senegalese wrestling is a type of folk wrestling traditionally performed by the Serer people and now a national sport in Senegal and parts of The Gambia, and is part of a larger West African form of traditional wrestling. The Senegalese form traditionally allows blows with the hands (frappe), the only one of the West African traditions to do so. As a larger confederation and championship around Lutte Traditionnelle has developed since the 1990s, Senegalese fighters now practice both forms, called officially Lutte Traditionnelle sans frappe and Lutte Traditionnelle avec frappe for the striking version.
Yékini is the nickname of Yakhya Diop, a popular champion of Senegalese wrestling, the most prominent variant of the Lutte Traditionnelle, a West African folk tradition which has become a major professional sport in the last two decades. From the Serer ethnic group, Yékini is the most successful wrestler since the professionalisation of the sport, and his appearances are major news in his home country. His 2006 fight against and defeat of Mohamed Ndao, alias Tyson, was billed in Senegal as "the fight of the century", cementing the two as the best known exponents of the sport. He was defeated by Balla Gaye 2, The Lion of Guédiawaye, at Stade Demba Diop on Sunday 22 April 2012, ending a reign that spanned almost two decades.
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Pape Mamadou Mbodj is a Senegalese football defender who currently plays for Neftçi Baku.
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The athletics competition at the 2017 Jeux de la Francophonie took place in Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan from 23 to 27 July 2017.
The 3rd African Youth Games took place in Algiers, Algeria from 18 to 28 July 2018. The Games featured approximately 3,300 athletes from 55 African countries who competed in 30 sports. Algiers was awarded the games by Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa in 2014.
The 2020–21 CAF Confederation Cup is the 18th edition of Africa's secondary club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), under the current CAF Confederation Cup title after the merger of CAF Cup and African Cup Winners' Cup.
The West African Games was an international multi-sport event between the nations of West Africa, which was held in Lagos, Nigeria in 1977. Opened on 27 August by Nigeria's head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo, ten countries took part in the eight-day competition. A total of eleven sports were contested.
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