AFCOPA Football Geography: Senegal and Gambia are in Group C, and the country within a country is together

This January, there will be not only the Asian Cup, but also the Africa Cup of Nations. The holding of the Asian Cup and the African Cup of Nations has made many European clubs complain.

The Africa Cup of Nations will be played in Côte d'Ivoire from 13 January to 11 February, while the first leg of the Champions League 1/8 will be played on 13 February.

RB Leipzig will also be at a disadvantage against Real Madrid, as their squad will also play in Africa with Mali, and another affected player could be Electrolux Moriba (Guinea), who will also play with the national team in the Africa Cup of Nations, despite having less playing time in the Leipzig squad.

This number will not only popularize the football geography of the Asian Cup, but also do the science popularization of the football geography of the African Cup.

In this issue, we get to know this team, The Gambia, which is ranked 126th in FIFA. The team's current highest-priced player is striker Moussa Barrow (€8.5 million), who plays for the Saudi league in Buraidah.

Gambia is in the same group as Senegal, Guinea and Cameroon in this Africa Cup of Nations. In the first match, Gambia will face Senegal led by Sadio Mane.

Whether it is the comparison of strength or the past record (in the past 6 times, Senegal has won 4 and drawn 2 and is unbeaten), Senegal has an absolute advantage.

However, the story of Senegal and Gambia is not on the field, but off the field. Opening the map of Africa, it is not difficult to find that the Gambia, located in the west of Africa, covers an area of only 11,000 square kilometers, which is the smallest of all the countries on the continent (the smallest country in this Africa Cup of Nations is not Gambia, but Cape Verde).

The Gambia is spread along the Gambia River, and its territory is like an earthworm that almost cuts Senegal off at the waist. The Gambia is also the only "country within a state" in the world built along a river.

The borders of the Gambia and Senegal were linked to the colonial activities of Britain and France.

Before the advent of the Age of Discovery, present-day Gambia and Senegal did not form states. After the advent of the Age of Discovery, the slave trade flourished in West Africa. The Senegal and Gambia rivers were important strongholds for the slave trade.

Britain occupied the Gambia River basin and France occupied the Senegal River and nearby areas.

At the end of the 19th century, the European colonial powers set off a frenzy to carve up Africa. The two colonial powers, Britain and France, were at loggerheads over the Gambia River issue.

After the Second Industrial Revolution, Germany gradually rose to become a capitalist power second only to the United States, surpassing Britain and France. Because Germany had few colonies, there were constant contradictions and conflicts with Britain and France.

In 1889, the British fought together against a common enemy, Germany. The Anglo-French reached a compromise on the distribution of the Gambian River. The British occupied the area of the Gambia River, which is the territory of today's The Gambia. France occupied most of the area, which is now Senegal.

After World War II, there was an anti-colonial national independence movement in Africa.

Senegal and the Gambia became independent from their respective suzerains. After independence, the two countries inherited the border drawn by Britain and France in 1889. This is what it is today.

The Gambia and Senegal had established the Senegambia Confederation in 1982 and were trying to achieve eventual reunification. But this confederation did not last long before it was dissolved. This is because Senegal is a French colony, influenced by France, and speaks French. The Gambia is a British colony and speaks English.

During the colonial period, France treated Senegal as an overseas territory and managed it carefully. Senegal has a relatively good infrastructure. Britain regards the Gambia as a source of raw materials, and is not as interested in local investment as France. As a result, the Gambia's infrastructure development is lagging behind Senegal's.

The differences in language and culture, coupled with the huge disparity in the economic development of the two countries, doomed the two countries to not come together.