Speaking during the examination of the 2026 budget of the Ministry of Youth and Sports at the National Assembly, the Minister of Finance and Budget, Cheikh Diba, provided details on the amounts committed by the State to support sports policy and youth development, particularly in view of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Dakar 2026.

According to him, the budget of the Ministry of Youth and Sports stands at "38,961,414,381 CFA francs", representing an apparent decrease of "8,467 million".

However, the minister was keen to put this decrease into perspective. "If we take into account the transfer of the cultural and creative industries and heritage promotion program amounting to 13,590 million, we realize that the budget has not actually decreased," he explained.

He also highlighted that several major projects are nearing completion, including "the rehabilitation of the Léopold Sédar Senghor stadium, the Manifal in Diourbel, the development of Kaolack and other facilities".

All these elements, according to him, show that "this budget already covers important infrastructure projects" and could even be increased depending on the needs.

A strong commitment to the Youth Olympic Games

Sheikh Diba reaffirmed the State's full commitment to the success of the 2026 Youth Olympic Games. "At the Ministry of Finance level, in addition to the 11 billion CFA francs allocated to the Organizing Committee for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games (COJOJ), we have earmarked over 104 billion CFA francs for the YOG 2026 to avoid any unforeseen circumstances," he explained. He indicated that "604 billion CFA francs are distributed among several sectoral departments" to support this major international event.

The Ministry of the Interior will receive 11.75 billion CFA francs for infrastructure strengthening for the benefit of the defense and security forces. The Ministry of Infrastructure will receive 23 billion CFA francs for the rehabilitation of sports infrastructure, including the Iba Mar Diop Stadium, the Olympic swimming pool, the Samba Diéry Diallo barracks, and local facilities. The Ministry of the Armed Forces will receive 1.444 billion CFA francs for the construction of military infrastructure, including the ECES center. Also in connection with the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, 14.8 billion CFA francs are earmarked for improving accessibility and upgrading sports infrastructure, while 43,240,175,976 CFA francs are allocated as unallocated expenses. "From a budgetary standpoint, we are ready." “Madam Minister, you can go with the contractors, we will be there for all requests related to the projects,” Cheikh Djiba assured.

Youth centers and administrative difficulties

Addressing the issue of Youth and Citizenship Centers, the minister acknowledged the existence of numerous obstacles. “Many projects are currently stalled. Companies have completed the work, but the Treasury cannot pay because the procedures have not been followed and the supporting documents are not available,” he lamented. He emphasized, however, that his department is working with the Inspectorate General of Finance to find solutions. “We are currently examining, as part of the audit on arrears, how to process these disbursement requests,” he stated, also mentioning administrative delays, land issues, and difficulties in signing certain agreements. For 2026, “budgetary allocations for local infrastructure amount to 7.81 billion CFA francs,” he added.

207 billion for youth at the state level

Beyond the Ministry of Youth and Sports alone, Cheikh Djiba emphasized the cross-cutting efforts in support of young people. "If you look at the entire budget, the efforts in favor of youth are estimated at 207 billion CFA francs, compared to 174 billion in 2025," he stated. He specified that these funds are distributed among several departments, notably the Ministry of Employment, which alone benefits from "a budget of 78 billion reserved for young people." For the minister, these figures clearly demonstrate "the importance that the new authorities place on youth policy."