Brikama Hosts Girls Festival For West Coast Region

As part of its continues drive to champion the course of Women’ football in the Gambia using the grassroots channel, The Gambia Football Federation through the German -Gambia Football Cooperation, convened a day’s girls football festival on Wednesday 9th October, 2019 at West Coast Region in Brikama.

The event brought together Three hundred (300) school girls from twelve (12) Lower Basic Schools across the West Coast Region that converged at the Box Bar Mini Stadium in Brikama. The day long event was meant as part of the cooperation’s MoU to increase the participation of girls and women into football and to further encourage girls to take part in the beautiful game while also facilitate for the basic football skills to be introduced into the girls in a form of sided games.

Speaking at the event opening, GFF President Lamin Kaba Bajo, said the football leadership will continue to champion the course of Women’s football in the country.  “I want to reiterate that we are very much committed to the course of the cooperation which was initiated by the Gambia National Olympic Committee through their counterparts in Germany, the Governments of The Gambia and Germany who all collaborated to bring a three year Football Development Project”.  At the end of the first year of the Cooperation, Mr Bajo said ” the project is proving to be very successful”. He thanked the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education for their continuous partnership while hailing the Manager of the Cooperation Monica Staab as an excellent, dedicated and inspirational leader.

Education Director for Region two Lamin Fatajo, said the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education is very proud to be associated with the program “I think I am the luckiest man because when I came to this Region I have the vision to develop sports. I called my Coaches and everyone concerned in sports to bring all sports together in a global approach in developing grassroots”. He said the MoYS and the Regional Directorate are opened to programs of such meant to enhance the participation of girls and women in football at the school level. Mr Fatajo also congratulated the GFF through its President Mr Bajo for the initiatives employed to empower grassroots women’s football and football in general.

Project Coordinator Monica Staab, finally thanked the GFF for sticking by the terms of the cooperation but pleasingly thanked the President Mr Bajo for his personal support and continuous following of the Women’s football activities.

The program was jointly coordinated by GFF Regional Coach Educators for West Coast Region, KM and Banjul with the assistance of GFF Grassroots and Youth Coordinator Ebrima Nyassi and supervised by Technical Director Sang Ndong.