By Sulayman Bah
Senegal’s legend Papa Bouba Diop has passed on following a brief illness.
The ex-Portsmouth midfielder is said to have been extremely ill and was wheelchair bound according to a Senegalese sporting official Laye Diaw.
Diop is best remembered for his combativeness in the middle of the park for the Taranga Lions but will go down in history as the African who scored the 2002 World Cup first goal.
The demise has thrown Dakar into mourning with his burial expected to be in Senegal.