Olympique Lyonnais (OL) announced the end of its more than ten-year partnership with AS Dakar Sacré-Coeur, an effective decision from Wednesday. This partnership, initiated in 2015, aimed to develop the training of young players within the Senegalese club, several of whom then joined OL to continue their development. This collaboration allowed OL to recruit promising talents such as Abdoulaye Ndiaye (now in Brest), Pathe Mboup (Pau FC) and Pierre-Antoine Dorival (OL Reserve), and was hailed by Lyon leaders as a period of “performing exchanges under the sign of training, excellence and human values”. This decision follows a period of uncertainty regarding OL’s partnerships, including the recent departure of AS St Priest to AS Monaco.

The end of this partnership marks a turning point in OL’s training strategy, which relied on this collaboration to obtain young African talent. OL expressed their gratitude to the AS Dakar Sacré-Coeur and wished it the best for its further development. This decision came at a time when OL’s U19 team had a disappointing season, finishing in the middle of the National Championship table and coming out of the eighth final of the Gambardella Cup. For the 2025-2026 season, Florent Balmont took over the U19 team, having held various coaching positions as an assistant at the club.

OL’s U19 team will start its preparation with the CariSport tournament, which will take place on 2 and 3 August. The organization unveiled the composition of the groups, placing OL in Pool A alongside the HAC and SCO d’Angers. This competition promises to be raised, with the presence of other renowned clubs such as Olympique de Marseille, AS Saint-Étienne and RC Strasbourg. The U19 National Championship will resume on August 24, giving Florent Balmont the time to prepare his players for the best.