In Bambaly, a village in southern Senegal, a boy played football barefoot because there was no other option.
He had no access to formal education. He went hungry. Almost no one in his family believed that football could get him out of there. That boy is named Sadio Mané, and he went on to play for Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Al Nassr, as well as win the African Ballon d’Or. But he never completely left Bambaly: he funded a hospital, a secondary school, 4G connectivity and monthly assistance for the poorest families in his region.
In August 2026, he went even further. Through his SM10 Agro brand, Mané announced an investment of 23,5 million dollars to create a 500-hectare agro-industrial park dedicated to mango cultivation, with a target of 50.000 tons per year and 2.500 direct jobs for young people from his homeland. He explained it himself without beating around the bush: “Why would I want ten Ferraris or twenty diamond watches? I would rather have my people receive something from what life has given me”.