A champion by choice, not chance: The quiet authority of Sadio Mane – Firstpost
You need an unmatched character to control chaos, especially when football becomes more than a contest and silverware becomes more than a trophy — a symbol of continental pride. So when the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025–26 final in Rabat descended into farce on Sunday, Senegal were staring at infamy.
A controversial late penalty against El Hadji Malick Diouf sparked outrage among Senegal’s players and staff, with coach Pape Thiaw signalling for his side to walk off the pitch. With Morocco just minutes away from what looked like a first AFCON title in 50 years, the final threatened to end not with football, but disgrace.
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That was when Sadio Mane stepped in.
“It’s not fair to stop football like this. It was really vital to play the match, even if we could have won or lost — football should be played,” Mane said later, explaining why he disobeyed his coach’s orders.
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Mane: Senegal’s perpetual champion
With goalkeeper Edouard Mendy by his side, Senegal’s biggest sporting icon pleaded with his teammates to return to the pitch. The world was watching, Mane reminded them. They were not just representing Senegal, but Africa itself. What unfolded on that field would shape perceptions far beyond the final whistle.
🚨🇸🇳 | SADIO MANE 🫡🇸🇳
One of the most unforgettable moments in African football history unfolded in the AFCON 2025 final in Rabat, when DR Congo referee Ndala awarded a highly controversial penalty to Morocco in the 10th minute of stoppage time.
In a wave of frustration, the… pic.twitter.com/gscycRa0yB
— Topskills Sports UK (@topskillsportuk) January 18, 2026
Mane’s intervention worked. Senegal resumed play despite the crushing blow of a last-minute penalty in stoppage time. What followed is now part of AFCON folklore.
Real Madrid’s Brahim Díaz’s timid Panenka was easily saved by Mendy. Then, in the fourth minute of extra time, Pape Gueye unleashed a screamer to seal the title. A mannschaft that had been seconds away from walking off the pitch were suddenly champions — rescued from ignominy by composure and leadership.
Also Read | AFCON final chaos: Walkout threat, Mane’s intervention, Panenka miss and Senegal’s extra-time glory
“This is just football,” Mane added. “Referees can make mistakes. People will judge. But what matters is that the game is played. The world is watching.”
This was hardly the first time Mane had saved Senegal’s blushes. Since making his international debut in 2012, the 33-year-old has been the constant thread in Senegal’s rise. With 153 goals in 126 appearances, he is the country’s leading scorer and one of its most capped players.
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With Mane as their talisman, Senegal had reached the AFCON final in 2019 before lifting the trophy for the first time in 2021. That night against Egypt, after a goalless draw, it was Mane who converted the decisive penalty. Days later, he repeated the feat to knock the same opponents out and send Senegal to the 2022 World Cup, a tournament he missed due to injury.
He would have a chance to make amends at the historic 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Senegal’s group matches scheduled to take place in the USA and Canada.
Having already declared that the 2025-26 AFCON was his last, where he scored two goals and made three assists to victory the player of the tournament award, there’s a fine chance the 2026 World Cup would also be his swansong.
Mane’s efforts would be to assist Senegal better their supreme performance from 2002, when they reached the quarter-finals in South Korea and Japan, but even if they don’t, he would leave behind a glittering and proud legacy of a player who rose from the grassless pitches of Bambali to become one of the top footballers in the world, but never allowed the fame get into his head.
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‘We can all borrow something from Mane’
Sample this: One of the viral videos in 2022 showed Mane playing a charity match in his hometown on a sandy pitch with literally not a single blade of grass covering. It was on these kinds of pitches that Mane’s footballing foundation was laid. It must have been tough, but it definitely moulded him into a tough nut.
Sadio Mane playing in a charity match back in his hometown of Banbali in Senegal ❤️🇸🇳
(via sadiomane/Instagram) pic.twitter.com/WGqrvIOMC5
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 16, 2022
In 2024, Mane built a world-class mini-stadium in Bambali, hoping to give back to the hometown that shaped him and inspire young footballers like him to learn the ropes of the match.
He didn’t just stop there. Mane has also built a hospital in his hometown and spent millions of dollars to construct schools and mosques.
Sadio Mane's father passed away from an illness when he was 7 because there was no hospital in his village, Bambali in Senegal.
Mane and his sister were both given birth to at home because there was no hospital.
He built the first hospital in his village for his people at a… pic.twitter.com/cz2SWLWkIt
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) January 6, 2024STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
As a Premier League and Champions League winner who has played for elite clubs such as Liverpool and Bayern Munich, and who now shares a dressing room with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, such charity may be a drop in the ocean, but it is still far more than what many have done.
Which also shows that Mane is a man of values above all else — values that saved African football on Sunday. Values that gave Senegal one more reason to celebrate, and in a world more divided than ever, qualities we could all do with a little more of.
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