The 72-minute documentary will be streamed free-to-air on Rakuten TV.
Rakuten TV is debuting a 72-minute documentary about Liverpool FC’s Sadio Mané, called Made In Senegal. The film goes live tomorrow (8 April) as part of the OTT service’s free ad-supported Rakuten Stories doc strand.
Made in Senegal documents Manés’ origins from humble beginnings in a small village in south Senegal to becoming a global superstar at Liverpool FC. The film uses a mix of documentary scenes, archive footage and animation to bring Mané’s past to life. The main narrator throughout the documentary is Mané himself.
Rakuten TV says the film is a story about “dreams, determination, faith, rebellion, courage and love”. In tandem with his football career, the documentary charts his social responsibility commitments and how he has gone out of his way to help those around him.
Mané said: “I wanted to show to the people that you can achieve anything in the world, if you are ready to build on your dreams and put in hard work.”
Teresa López, European content director of Rakuten TV, said: “Rakuten TV is delighted to present this new documentary, as we continue building our strategy to offer exclusive and original content for free. Made in Senegal has such a powerful narrative, which I think audiences will love as much as we do. The film attracted our attention from the very first moment, telling a story of self-belief and determination to achieve your dreams.”
Made in Senegal is a co-pro between Vertical Social Club GmbH and arena11 sports group GmbH. It sits alongside Rakuten TV’s other free-to-air sports docs, including Matchday – Inside FC Barcelona, MessiCirque and Inside Kilian Jornet.
Vertical Social Club contacted Broadcast Sport to explain its role in Made in Senegal. Jermain Raffington, executive producer and founder, said: “We were honoured to be given the chance to tell Sadio’s story, which had never been told in-depth before. It shows how Sadio’s will and determination got him to where he is today, not only as a successful sportsperson but as someone who is pursuing the greater goal of helping the people around him.”
The documentary will be launched exclusively on Rakuten TV throughout Europe from April 8th, 2020. Canal+ shows the film in all French speaking countries in Africa, including Senegal. To ensure that all other football fans can watch the film, the film will be made available as pay-per-view in all non-exclusive markets via www.made-in-senegal-com. The revenue generated from the PPV will be donated to social causes.