The Senegal National Football team have touched down in the city ahead of a historic international fixture this week, putting the final touches to their preparations at the University of Nottingham's award-winning football training facilities.
The Lions of Teranga face England tomorrow (Tuesday 10 June) at the City Ground, home of Nottingham Forest, in the first Men's Senior International to be hosted in the city for nearly 20 years, since Croatia lost to Portugal in the Euro 1996 group stages.
The Senegalese squad, which includes well-known Premier League names such as Everton's Idrissa Gueye, Crystal Palace's Ismaila Sarr and Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson, trained at the 2024 Sports University of the Year taking advantage of their world-class grass pitches at Highfields Sports Complex.
The Senegal stars looked relaxed at Highfields as they enjoyed their first pitch session after their 1-1 draw with Ireland in Dublin on Friday. Throughout the regular season, the facility, which includes 8 football pitches, and 3 rugby pitches also hosts Notts County FC as well as the University's first XI football squads and the BUCS Super Rugby franchise.
We are very happy to be here in Nottingham for this historic game. Having the right pitch to prepare on is very important. We have very talented players, world-class players, and you can see that they are very happy to train on this kind of pitch. It's fantastic to see that the University has such a high level of facilities available not only for us but also for the young people here in Nottingham.
The University of Nottingham has a strong track record of hosting top international teams ahead of key games. They've previously welcomed the Lionesses, England's Senior Women's national football team to the flagship David Ross Sports Village venue as well as the Indian Cricket programme, Table Tennis Australia and the England Roses netball squad.
We're delighted to support the Senegalese team in in their pre-match preparations for the upcoming international. It's an exciting time to be part of the thriving sporting scene in Nottingham and we feel our extensive world-class facilities, alongside our expert support services can offer the perfect environment for visiting international teams.
Kick off at the City Ground is scheduled for 7.45pm tomorrow and England will be hoping to keep their 100% record under manager Thomas Tuchel, whilst Thiaw's Senegal won't want to lose their 23-game unbeaten streak.
The sell-out crowd will also be hoping to see a glimpse of home favourite Forest Star, Morgan Gibbs-White who has been named in Tuchel's 26-man squad. Whilst tickets to the game are sold out, fans can tune into the game from 7pm on ITV Sport and BBC Radio 5 Live.
