When the Lions of Teranga are playing, you're almost guaranteed to hear the sound of vuvuzelas on the corner of Frederick Douglass Boulevard and West 116th Street. On the day of Senegal's first 2026 World Cup match, the fans who visited this corner, part of the Little Senegal area in Harlem, were also met by police blockades.
This portion of upper Manhattan is home to a large West African immigrant population, many whom hail from Senegal. The local New York community was encouraged to provide its support directly by Senegal coach Pape Thiaw, as most supporters from home were unable to travel to the matches in person.
That's because Senegal is one of four nations at this World Cup, along with Haiti, Iran, and Ivory Coast, impacted by US President Donald Trump's travel ban imposed in December 2025 as part of a broader attempt to tighten US immigration policy. As a result, many fans from Senegal were unable to obtain the necessary visa required to come to the United States to watch the national team.
Many in the local community instead head to Little Senegal to cheer on their nation outside the Senegalese Association of America, an association founded in 1989 to improve the lives of Senegalese immigrants in the United States.
When they arrived, they found that the New York Police Department blocked off entry at most intersections on West 116th, with a heavy police presence between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. When asked what the barriers were for, one officer said "crowd control," while another refused to answer.
Fans draped in the Senegalese flag were left frustrated at the barricades as officers refused to let them through. Just beyond, more fans congregated outside the Senegalese Association.
"We're here for the match," one fan in a green Sadio Mané jersey told an officer. "We want to see the match, just there."
"Let us through, I don't understand," said another while carrying two vuvuzelas.
Some officers at the other end of the street allowed a few fans through while those positioned on Frederick Douglass were adamant about not letting anyone through, aside from city buses and those who lived on the street. Even more officers were present outside the Association, watching as groups of two to three fans huddled with each other over phones to watch the match on the street when the Association reached capacity.
When asked by the New York Soccer Journal to confirm the reason for the NYPD's presence, the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information's office provided the following statement:
"The NYPD wants everyone to be able to enjoy these games safely, and this is a public safety measure. During the 2025 Africa Cup, there were large crowds gathered along 116th Street near 8th Avenue during a match with Senegal, and those crowds became disorderly. People took over the streets and blocked traffic. While addressing this condition, one officer was struck by a vehicle and another officer was assaulted.
In order to prevent any large, disorderly groups from gathering and to maintain safety in the area, the NYPD closed off 116th Street from 8th Avenue to Lenox Avenue to vehicle traffic and restricted pedestrian access prior to and during today’s game. City buses were allowed to proceed through their regular routes and dropped off and picked up passengers as normal. Residents and people traveling to businesses were allowed to enter. Officers additionally focused on keeping the sidewalks clear and ensuring that businesses did not exceed their allowed occupancy.
The area was reopened at the conclusion of the match. There were no summonses issued or arrests made."
In that statement, the NYPD is referring, in part, to celebrations that took place in the Little Senegal streets during and after Senegal's controversial AFCON final win over Morocco in January.
During last week's match with France, the only time the police appeared to interact with the gathered fans was at halftime, when many danced in the closed street as Senegal at that point had held France to a tie. Officers ushered fans off the streets, reinforcing the crowd control barriers along the sidewalk.
Vuvuzelas were still heard throughout the entirety of the match, even as Senegal went down 2-0 and eventually lost 3-1 against the two-time World Cup champions. No matter the final result, Ibrahim Mbaye's goal in second-half stoppage time was enough to have fans cheering up and down 116th Street for ten minutes.
Senegal's run at the World Cup might not extend beyond the group stage after a second straight loss, this time a 3-2 vs Norway, but New York-based fans didn't shy away from celebrating the Lions of Teranga even while under close watch by the NYPD.
