Senegal’s Africa Cup of Nations hero, Sadio Mane, will have a stadium renamed after him in his hometown, Sedhiou, a region in the South-West part of the African country.

The Liverpool forward put aside his Anfield ties with Egypt’s Mohammed Salah when he fired home the deciding penalty in the AFCON final, having lost one during regular time, as the Teranaga Lions clinched their first-ever continental trophy.

Mane who moved from villain to hero etched his name in the history books of Senegalese football as well as the hearts of his well-meaning countrymen who trooped out en-mass on the streets of Dakar to welcome the squad from their Cameroon conquest.

WuzupNigeria had reported that President Macky Sall, in a ceremony in the presidential palace in the capital Dakar, appointed team members to the West African country’s prestigious Order of the Lion.

This is just as Sall announced a prize of the equivalent of some $87,000 for each team member, as well as a 200 square-metre (2,100 square-foot) plot of land in Dakar, and a 500 square-metre (5,400 square-foot) plot in the nearby city of Diamniadio.

However, the Mayor of Sedhiou, Abdoulaye Diop, complimented the president’s gesture by naming a stadium after Mane.

Sports News Africa quoted Diop as saying, “Sadio Mane has honoured all of Senegal, the Sedhiou region and the entire Casamance area.”

“I have decided to name the Sedhiou stadium after him.

“In doing so I wish to convey the gratitude of all the sons and daughters of the region towards him.

“He has made all of mankind aware of Bambali and Sedhiou, the region’s main town. This is a gift that Sadio Mane truly deserves.”