Transform a Girl's Life Through Soccer

Seyni Ndir Seck, our President, attended the World Cup in Russia! She cheered on the Senegal Men’s National Team in their group phase with the First Lady Marème Faye Sall and other former national team players, including El Hadji Diouf. Senegal played great and tied Japan for second place. Unfortunately, they were eliminated based on penalty cards to break the tie as every other measure was equal. Not the way you want to go out, but the team returned home to a proud country! 

This World Cup made us very excited for next year’s World Cup when the best national women’s teams will play each other in France. Seyni will also represent Ladies’ Turn and the Senegalese Federation for Women’s Soccer at that event. While Senegal didn’t qualify for 2019, it’s our dream that someday the Senegalese Women’s National Team will compete on the world stage. For now, we’ll be cheering hard for the other African women’s teams representing the continent, and we’ll be doing our daily work of building up female talent and opportunities in soccer in Senegal.

The 2019 World Cup also corresponds with our 10 year anniversary as a non-profit! We have some exciting plans, including organizing our own international tournament in Senegal. Stay tuned. We’ll need a big push of support to pull off another adventure and celebrate all we have accomplished.

Thanks again for always making all of these adventures possible!

Nio Far, In Solidarity,

Jennifer and the Ladies' Turn Team

While all this soccer playing is going on, the Ladies’ Turn documentary continues to reach new audiences and delight. The Ladies’ Turn film returned to Senegal in February for the Film Femmes Afrique Festival (African Women’s Film Festival). It was an honor to be in the same film festival as films celebrating other strong women like a Mama Colonel about Honorine, a Congolese Police Colonel who runs the child protection and sexual violence branch in Bukavu in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Ouaga Girls telling the story of female mechanics in Burkina Faso’s capital. Audiences across Senegal in Dakar, Kaolack, Louga, Rufisque, Saint Louis, Sokone, Thies, and Ziguinchor were treated to these feminist films. Check out their website for ideas for your next film night: https://www.filmsfemmesafrique.com/copie-de-les-documentaires

In Europe, Ladies’ Turn was screened on Arte, a major channel. Every time Ladies’ Turn airs on TV, we get messages from around the world from people encouraging us and wanting to know how they can help. It’s wonderful. We usually direct them to this page as it’s the easiest way to give us a boost- so thanks for everything you all are doing by supporting us through GlobalGiving.

Our film was also screened in France this year. After the film at the Mediathèque Grande Plage in Roubaix near Lille, sociologist Carine Guérandel led a discussion with Hélène Harder, our amazing director, Fatiha Ouali, a French national champion in racewalking, and Alycia Meermans, a rising women’s rugby star. In Paris, the film was shown at La Bellevilloise for the Festival Bobines Sociales which is “Paris’ social film festival for independent, activist (engagé) films". In May, Belleville Cityonne showed our film along with Burkinabé Rising in Paris for their Art of the Resistance events. With all these screenings, our documentary continues to be an important tool for promoting women’s soccer and showing that Senegalese women do play, lead, and excel.  

We know the Women’s World Cup is just a year away, but as we wait for that, we’ll be rooting for the national men’s soccer team as they compete in the World Cup later this month.

Go Lions and Lionnesses!

In Solidarity,

Jennifer and the Ladies' Turn Team