Mansour Loum, six years of striving to get it right

Mansour, this award bears your name. It also tells something of our story.

Seeing you named sports journalist of the year at the Africa-Europe Sports Awards takes me back over six years at your side. Six extraordinary years, demanding and at times difficult given the means we have. Six years in which I have watched you move this newsroom forward without ever giving up what you expect of an article: that it goes out and finds what the reader needs to know.

Today I want to say thank you. As founder of Sport News Africa, as a colleague, and on behalf of this outlet that you have done so much to help grow.

Who is Mansour Loum?

Franco-Senegalese, Mansour Loum is a sports journalist and editor-in-chief of Sport News Africa. After attending the Lycée Français Jean-Mermoz in Dakar, he trained in journalism in Aix-Marseille. His career has taken in La Provence, Newsweb and the editorship of Afrik-Foot, followed by television with Stad’Afric. A specialist in African football, he covers competitions, conducts interviews and investigates behind the scenes of sport. At the 2026 Africa-Europe Sports Awards, he was named sports journalist of the year.

The truth of sport, beyond the result.

A scoreline tells you what happened on the pitch. It does not always tell you the conditions in which a team got there, how a decision was made, or what its consequences change for the players. It is in that space that your work comes into its own.

The dossiers on the Africa Cup of Nations, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and Senegal’s World Cup, which you link to this award, show that approach at work. They show a journalist who seeks to understand and to help others understand, even on subjects where versions clash.

Not stopping at the tumult.

When the final between Senegal and Morocco descended into a clash of rulings and regulations, you devoted an analysis to the CAS precedents and the legal arguments in the case. The article of 18 March carried a precise question: why could the decision of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) be challenged in Lausanne?

That piece should still be read in the context of its publication: that of a case then under way. But the professional question remains. Amid the anger and the certainties, readers had to be given the elements to follow and understand.

18 March 2026 · Mansour Loum · AnalysisAFCON 2025: why CAS could (again) overrule CAFRead the analysis on SNA →

Asking the question. Listening for nuance.

The next day, your interview with sports lawyer Amir N’Gazi extended that search. Who was considered the winner while a decision was awaited? Did an appeal automatically suspend its effects? What is the difference between leaving the pitch and definitively refusing to resume the match?

Those questions gave room to procedure, to distinctions, to uncertainty. It is a standard I value in your work: going to find the interlocutor able to shed light on what cannot simply be asserted.

19 March 2026 · An interview by Mansour LoumRead the interview with Amir N’GaziRead the questions and answers →

Telling what is at stake behind the scenes, too.

The two investigations published on 2 and 7 July, co-written with Romain Molina, turned the focus to the inner workings of the Senegal squad: the coach’s contractual situation, preparation, organisation and life within the group. The second instalment also set out conflicting accounts of certain episodes, without erasing them.

You brought our newsroom that knowledge of the files and that inside information which allow us to go beyond mere match commentary. For me, that ability counts for a lot in the credibility SNA has built.

2 July 2026 · Romain Molina and Mansour Loum · Part oneRead part one on the behind-the-scenes story of Senegal’s World CupRead the investigation → 7 July 2026 · Romain Molina and Mansour Loum · Part twoRead part two: preparation, logistics and squad selectionRead part two →

Mansour Loum, left, at the 2026 Africa-Europe Sports Awards. Via Lassana Camara / X.

Helping a newsroom grow. And others with it.

These articles show one part of your work. They cannot, on their own, tell what these six years have meant to us.

With small means, you have kept this newsroom running and pushed us constantly to improve. Your perseverance has counted. So has your rigour. And, just as much, your big heart: that generosity which means one man’s work benefits an entire team.

You helped SNA grow. You helped us grow along with it.

I know what we owe you. In the trust of our readers, in the depth of our dossiers, in our determination to dig further, there is a great deal of you.

Thank you, Mansour.

This award rewards your work. For us, it is also a chance to give you what daily life sometimes leaves too little time to say: our gratitude.

Thank you for these six years. For what you have held together, for what you have built, for the credibility you helped bring to Sport News Africa. Thank you for continuing to push us forward.

Today, an entire outlet pays tribute to you.

Gomus, founder of Sport News Africa

Find Mansour Loum’s articles on Sport News Africa →

On X, messages of appreciation

On 19 and 20 October, messages of congratulation also accompanied the award on X. Here are the tributes we found, with their authors and links to the original posts.

Lassana Camara — “An award that honours far more than a career: it celebrates a pen, a passion and a commitment to African sport.” @mauritaniefoot · 19 October 2026

Malang Sané — “A recognition that crowns the seriousness of the man in the performance of his role.” @sane932 · 19 October 2026

Abdoul Aziz Bane — “Congratulations @Mansour_Loum” @AbdoulAzizBane · 19 October 2026

Steven Lavon — “Congratulations on the trophy @Mansour_Loum” @lasteven04 · 19 October 2026

IKF10 — “Weak point: too good. Congratulations Louminho” @FayeIboumessi · 19 October 2026

Mamadou NDIAYE — “Warmest congratulations to @Mansour_Loum big respect ✌🏾🙏🏿” @ndiaye15mamadou · 20 October 2026

Papa Sarr — “Congratulations @Mansour_Loum! The community is waiting for the party 😂” @PapaMSarr · 20 October 2026

Aimé Atti — “Congratulations REC @Mansour_Loum” @AimeAtti_ · 20 October 2026

Seugn Xaadim — “Proud🙏 Congratulations @Mansour_Loum. All the best” @yaramfall58 · 20 October 2026

Akabla A. Prince — “Bravo @Mansour_Loum. You’ve got 1 plate of Thiébou with me in Treichville next time you’re through.” @akablaap · 20 October 2026

Ayoba FAYE — “Congratulations @Mansour_Loum […]” @autruicomoi · 20 October 2026

Laye marseillais — “So well deserved my man Congratulations @Mansour_Loum” @Layemarsei51198 · 20 October 2026

Malick Diouf — “Congratulations Mansour” @maleekdiouf · 20 October 2026