Walking in the steps of their fathers: Senegal’s Sarr, Morocco’s El Aynaoui carry family heritage into Sunday’s final

They say the fruit seldom falls far from the tree, and in sport, the sight of children walking on the same paths created by their parents is never a surprise.

On Sunday, when Morocco and Senegal strut onto the turf at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdallahin Rabat for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 final, the occasion will be heavy with pressure, expectation, and something far more intimate.

On both sides of the divide, two young men will be carrying more than national colors. They will be carrying family stories of success, grit and hunger, and hope that the memories of their fathers will spur them into creating history on their own nights.

Stories that began decades ago, on different courts and pitches will converge under the floodlights of Africa’s biggest stage.

At one end is Senegal’s Mamadou Sarr, and on the other is Morocco’s Neil El Aynaoui, both descendants of greatness, DNA strands of legendary status flowing freely in their bloodstreams.

Mamadou Sarr: finishing a journey his father could only watch

For Mamadou Sarr, the story is finishing a ‘project’ his father started, but could only watch its end from afar.

Thrown into the semi-final against Egypt following the injury to captain Kalidou Koulibaly, the young defender could have been forgiven for feeling the weight of the moment. Instead, he played with composure well beyond his years, helping Senegal secure a tense 1–0 victory and a place in the final.

A clean sheet, victory and a place in the final. But, the significance of that night stretches far beyond tactics or substitutions.

Mamadou is the son of Pape Sarr, a legend of Senegalese football.

Pape was part of the iconic Senegal squad that stormed to the final of the 2002 AFCON, a team that ignited belief and reshaped the nation’s football identity. Yet fate was cruel. Suspension ruled him out of the final, a game they ended losing 3-2 on penalties to Cameroon.

He reached the summit, but could not step onto it. This was the year of the golden Senegalese generation, one that took Africa to the biggest stage at the World Cup, becoming the first ever team to reach the quarter finals.

More than two decades later, his son has done what he could not, step into the final of Africa’s grandest of stages. With skipper Koulibaly out injured, Mamadou, 20, who plays in France with Strasbourg, is likely to be handed a start.

Where the father watched from the sidelines, the son stands a chance to curve out history.

Neil El Aynaoui: from centre court to centre stage

On the opposite side stands Neil El Aynaoui, a player whose journey into football carries echoes from a very different arena.

Neil is the son of Younes El Aynaoui, a man who once carried Morocco’s flag across the world’s greatest tennis courts; a Grand Slam contender, a five-time singles winner who was admired for resilience, elegance, and mental strength.

Those qualities have quietly found a new home. And not the traditional tennis route; it is one written on a football pitch.

Throughout their AFCON campaign, Neil has emerged as a key figure at the heart of the Moroccan midfield; intelligent in possession, disciplined without the ball, and tactically mature in the biggest moments.

There is a calmness to his game that feels inherited rather than taught. While his father mastered centre court, Neil now commands central spaces on the pitch. Different sport, same demands: focus, sacrifice, and the ability to perform at the highest level.

If Younes El Aynaoui taught Morocco how to dream beyond borders with his achievements in world tennis, his son is now helping the nation dream within them, one final away from continental glory, their first AFCON title in 50 years.

Earning the name, not borrowing it

What makes this final special is not simply famous surnames. It is the refusal of both players to live off them. Mamadou Sarr did not enter the semi-final as “Pape’s son” and Neil El Aynaoui did not control Morocco’s midfield as “the tennis legend’s heir.”

They arrived in their own terms, shaped by discipline, sharpened by opportunity, and trusted by their coaches in moments where reputations offer no protection.

And tomorrow, when Morocco and Senegal contest the AFCON crown, history will not be replayed — it will be rewritten. Not by fathers reliving past glories, but by sons daring to take them one step further.

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