Student interview with Félix, interning at AS Dakar Sacré Coeur, AMOS Lyon

Félix nous dévoile les coulisses de son stage au Sénégal

Félix, AMOScien lyonnais de 20 ans, et actuellement en 3e année du European Bachelor Sport Marketing and Event Management of  nous raconte son expérience professionnelle au Sénégal, au sein du club de football de l’AS Dakar Sacré Cœur, partenaire de l’Olympique Lyonnais.

Félix a rejoint ce club professionnel sénégalais en juillet dernier dans le but de réaliser un stage de 6 mois avant de s’envoler pour le Danemark et précisément à Odense, fin janvier 2023, pour le second semestre, sur une formation en sport management orientée « Sport Outdoor ».

Comment as-tu postulé pour ce stage ?

« Tout part de l’écoute d’un podcast où était interviewé un membre du département international à l’Olympique Lyonnais. Je me suis dit que je devais tenter ma chance donc j’ai tout de suite envoyé ma candidature spontanée à l’OL pour un stage au service international sur cette période. »

« Le football est une vraie passion pour moi depuis tout petit que ce soit côté sportif ou business. J’ai donc bien précisé en envoyant ma candidature que je souhaitais pouvoir toucher à ces deux aspects si j’étais retenu. Mon petit plus, je pense, est le fait que j’ai eu l’opportunité de beaucoup voyager, notamment à Seattle, Rabat, Beyrouth et Dakar, villes dans lesquelles se trouvent les clubs partenaires de l’OL. »

What were your tasks at AS Dakar Sacré Coeur?

“I was a recruitment assistant and coordinated the administration of the recruitment unit. This consists of 3 coordinators and 6 scouts deployed in the Dakar region. I worked mainly on establishing connections between the recruitment unit and the staff, but also on data recovery and the organization of player trials.”

“Most of my assignments established with Olympique Lyonnais dealt with the creation of tools for this recruitment unit.”

How is the Dakar Sacré Coeur recruitment cell structured?

“First of all, you need to understand that one of the club’s objectives is to transfer players to Europe. The club is in constant communication with the OL regarding the sporting aspect and player development. The staff also receives training from the Lyon club several times a season. So, my responsibilities were important because the recruitment unit must be efficient.”

“The club mainly looks for U13 to U15 players in Dakar only. The best players often come from the suburbs to be recruited for training (from U17 to U19). There is little recruitment for the professional team because the club promotes its young players from the training to give them visibility in the Senegalese League 1 championship.”

“You should also know that the Dakar Sacré Coeur does not approach clubs to sell its players. European recruiters go there to observe and recruit players.”

What was your best memory during this internship?

“I would say the OL visit in November. Julien Negri, international technical manager, and Fabien Cavallero, recruitment manager at the OL training centre, provided staff training for 1 week at the Dakar Sacré Coeur. I also really appreciated the whole aspect of organizing detections with supervised players.”

What is your professional project today?

“I would like to continue in the 4th year of a PGE work-study program. I also hope to stay in the OL environment and why not do my internship there. I would like to join the recruitment unit at OL International (supervise and connect partner clubs around the world), always with a focus on the athlete.”