Monday, 09 June 2025
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.
Senegal players enjoying the facilities at the University of Nottingham
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 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.
Story credits
More information is available from Kate Rothery, Sports Marketing and Communications Manager, at kate.rothery@nottingham.ac.uk.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 24 in Europe and 15th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the third most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2024 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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