The Gambia senior national team have been drawn against Sierra Leone in the qualifiers for the Morocco 2022 African Women’s Cup of Nations qualifiers.
In the U-20 World Cup qualifiers, the country is also drawn against traditional foes in recent women’s football rivals Burkina Faso. The draws for both competitions were held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo on Monday.
The last time the Gambians participated in an U-20 qualifiers, they were defeated 3-2 on aggregate after a first leg loss in Ouagadougou was followed by a goalless stalemate in Banjul in the return leg.
The Gambia will first travel to Sierra Leone for the first leg on June 7 before the deciding leg in Banjul a week later on June 15. The winner of the first-round tie will play either Cameroon or the Central African Republic in the next and final stage of the qualifiers.
Reacting to the draw in an exclusive interview with www.gambiaff.org, Sainey Sissoho M’Boge the Women’s Football Coordinator at The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) is delighted with the pairings.
“It’s a very exciting day for women’s football in The Gambia and Africa at large, after all the developments over the years, it feels great to have the National Teams competing in major tournaments. I think it’s a fair draw against Sierra Leone, I’m optimistic about our chances because we have the talents,” she said.
After having made its solitary appearance in a women’s tournament finals in the 2012 U-17 World Cup in Azerbaijan, it is only the second time that The Gambia has been registered to participate at the qualifiers at senior category. Following its exit to Nigeria in the final round of the last qualifiers, the Queen Scorpions will be hoping to go a step further this time by qualifying for Morocco.
“It was the same opponent we meet last time. So, we have learned from that experience and hopefully we will have our revenge this time around,” Sainey, the youngest player to ever play at an U-17 World Cup at Azerbaijan, said of the U-20 draw against Burkina.
She thanked the GFF President Mr. Lamin Kaba Bajo and his entire Executive Committee for the commitment showed in putting women’s football at the forefront of its development agenda.