Youssou Diouf: Young Senegalese Forward Dies After Collapse at Thiès Stadium
The Senegalese football community has been shaken by the death of 20-year-old youssou diouf, who suffered a sudden malaise after a Ligue 2 fixture in Thiès. The event, which unfolded at the Maniang Soumaré stadium at the end of the AS Saloum–AS Amitié match, has prompted an official inquiry and widespread tributes.
Youssou Diouf: match involvement and background
The player, named Youssou Diouf in match reports and also referenced elsewhere as Youssouph Diouf, was a forward on the AS Saloum roster and had previously been associated with Casa Sports as an attacker. He was 20 years old. In the fixture that counted for the 16th matchday of the Senegalese Ligue 2, AS Saloum drew 0-0 with AS Amitié. The LSFP noted that he had taken part in the game for about 20 minutes and was on the bench at the time of the incident. The statement also specified that he was not in a state of fasting when the malaise occurred.
Maniang Soumaré stadium, Thiès: the moment of collapse
The medical emergency occurred on Sunday night at the Maniang Soumaré stadium in Thiès, immediately after the final whistle. Team medics and local rescuers intervened rapidly at the scene, but despite those efforts the young attacker did not survive. The sequence—participation of roughly 20 minutes, placement on the bench, sudden malaise just after the match ended, and prompt but unsuccessful resuscitation—frames the immediate cause-and-effect chain that led to his death.
AS Saloum and Kaolack reaction to the death
The death produced an immediate emotional shock in the stadium and then across the country. In Kaolack, the home base of AS Saloum, teammates, club officials and supporters expressed deep consternation and difficulty accepting the loss of one of their own. Tributes multiplied on social networks and within sporting circles, many stressing his determination on the pitch and his attachment to the club jersey. More broadly, the national football community has been described as mourning a young talent cut down in the middle of the season.
Ligue de football sénégalaise (LSFP) statement and planned inquiry
The Ligue de football sénégalaise (LSFP) issued a communiqué that reconstructed key facts: the match context (AS Saloum v AS Amitié, 0-0), his approximately 20 minutes of play, his presence on the bench when the malaise struck, and that he was not fasting. The LSFP announced that it will work with the competent authorities to establish the precise circumstances of the death and pledged support for AS Saloum and the family of the deceased. Those official steps aim to clarify how a player who had been active that evening suffered a fatal collapse shortly after the game.
Khady Diène Gaye: ministerial reaction and broader impact
Khady Diène Gaye, the Minister of Youth and Sports, described the loss as a painful ordeal that upends the entire sporting family and invoked a wish for divine mercy and eternal rest for the player. Her intervention underscored the national dimension of the tragedy and the state's attention to the matter.
What makes this notable is how abruptly the incident occurred: a player who had logged only about 20 minutes of play in a 16th-round Ligue 2 match collapsed after the game and could not be saved despite immediate aid. The death has produced both a local outpouring of grief in Kaolack and an institutional promise of investigation, linking an on-field medical emergency to broader questions about player safety and post-match care.
