Senegal will send three young boxers into its home Youth Olympic tournament when competition starts on November 7, 2026. Soda Faye, Mame Cheikh Ibrahima Fall Faye and Khadidiatou Boiro carry the host nation’s hopes into an event that brings international youth boxing to the Dakar Expo Centre from November 7 to 12.
Their selection, detailed by World Boxing on November 4, gives the home programme representation in three different divisions. Soda Faye enters the women’s 57kg competition, Fall Faye the men’s 50kg and Boiro the women’s 60kg. Their routes to Dakar also reveal several ways a young African boxer can build toward international competition.
Three athletes, different foundations
Soda Faye and Fall Faye both reached the quarter-finals of the World Boxing Futures Cup in Bangkok in March 2026. Soda had previously won silver at the African Youth Games in Angola in December 2025. Boiro brings experience from Chinese boxing and hapkido, having moved into Olympic-style boxing in 2025.
They are coached by Ibrahima Wade, whose programme included a final preparation camp in China from August 21 to September 14. The combination of domestic competition, regional events and overseas preparation gives the trio a broader set of experiences than a home tournament alone could provide.
For Senegal’s supporters, the three divisions create three separate campaigns to follow. The athletes will face different draws and opponents, even though they share a coach and the same national colours. Success for one does not move the others through their brackets; every bout has its own competitive demands.
A Seychellois prospect adds an island perspective
Another African story comes from Seychelles, where 17-year-old Franco Leeroy Zialor is preparing for the men’s 60kg competition. In its November 2 profile, World Boxing reports that Zialor began boxing in 2023 and won gold at the 2025 Indian Ocean youth games known as CJSOI.
His preparation has taken him through international tournaments and camps, including an October 12–20 programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Away from the ring, he is studying for an Advanced Certificate in Motor Vehicle studies. He is Seychelles’ sole boxer in a four-athlete national delegation at the Games.
That combination of education and competition is an important part of the youth-sport picture. A tournament can be the largest sporting opportunity an athlete has experienced while still being one element of a life that includes qualifications, family commitments and future work. Zialor’s studies give his campaign a dimension beyond the familiar medal prediction.
What the pathway is designed to provide
The World Boxing calendar published in January identified the Bangkok Futures Cup as an entry event for Dakar. It placed the youth programme alongside an elite World Boxing Cup series, rather than treating the two as interchangeable competitions.
The difference is useful for fans who usually follow professional title fights. Dakar’s athletes are taking part in an age-specific international tournament. A successful appearance can provide experience against unfamiliar styles and a demanding competition environment; it is a different milestone from winning a professional championship belt.
For a developing boxer, the value of international experience can be very practical. An opponent may close distance differently from regular gym partners. The tempo may change after the opening exchanges. A coach and athlete have to communicate clearly between rounds and carry out adjustments under pressure. Those are the kinds of challenges a tournament can expose, whatever the final medal position.
How to follow the African campaigns
The most useful starting information is each athlete’s weight category, opponent and place in the draw. Senegal’s women’s 60kg entry and Seychelles’ men’s 60kg entry share a number but belong to separate competitions. Keeping the gender and division together avoids mixing results or assuming the athletes could meet.
World Boxing maintains its official competition documents for the sport’s rules and procedures. Once the tournament begins, the bout order and results will be more useful than broad forecasts about which country should dominate.
The home ring gives Senegal’s trio a rare opportunity to compete before a local crowd at a major international youth event. For Zialor, Dakar is the next step after a rapid introduction to boxing and a regional title. Their campaigns begin on November 7, with the results still to be earned inside the ring.
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