Gambia men’s U-17 are set to take on Guinea Bissau in two international football friendlies at Bakau’s Independence Stadium, starting with Friday’s (today) match at 6pm local time.
The two sides will again square off at the same venue on Monday 19th August for the second and final encounter. Ahead of the matches, Baby Scorpions Coach Abdoulie Bojang said his team of 23 players are in camp and thus fully ready for the game. “We have been working so hard for the friendly match as we seek to establish a good and competitive team,” he told www.gambiaff.org.
About 50 players were selected from schools across the country through the various Gambia Football Federation (GFF) sponsored competitions before the final list of 23 players. “I’m impressed with the level of performance of the players. We played two local practice matches and had great results in both matches,” he added.
Bojang further noted that the Federation has been supportive from the beginning of the initiative, which he described as fantastic. “This is fantastic. The initiative is a development process and these categories will help us have sustainable and competitive elite players that can represent the national team in the future upon graduation from each of the categories of U-12, U-15, U-17 and U-20.” He said the players are all fit and healthy and described the camp mood as joyous and optimistic.
He urged the fans, especially parents and students to come and support their children and colleagues as that will boost their spirits and bring joy to the stands. ” It’s their first match in international duty and they are still young, so I urge everyone to come and fill the stadium in both matches and cheer them up.”
For his part, Momodou O. Njie, the Team Manager expressed delight over the level of preparation and support from the Federation. He said they are working with the GFF on a daily basis and assures that all the logistics and administrative arrangements are in place.
Njie also said the GFF grassroots and schools football is a good initiative in the right direction. He encouraged young Gambians and aspiring footballers to take up their education seriously as that also plays a very important role in the mentality of the players on the pitch.