The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) on Sunday handed over two modern mini stadium projects in Old Yundum and Busumbala to contractors in ceremonies held at the respective grounds. The National Technical Training Centre (NTTC), cum Football Hotel, will witness further development with the construction of a new grass pitch, standard pavilion, going with all the facilities attached to it and a swimming pool, while for Busumbala, the community will benefit from a grass field and a pavilion with all facilities attached.
Speaking at the first event at the NTTC, Mr. Bakary K. Jammeh the First Vice President of the GFF, who also doubles as the Federation’s FIFA Forwards Project Manager, said the swimming pool project would ensure the Football Hotel completes the process of attaining a three-star status as a hotel. He said the handing over ceremony is the climax of a very long process that began in 2014 under the current leadership of the GFF. He stated that when the current executive under the leadership of Mr. Lamin Kaba Bajo took over in 2014, they realised that the problems of Gambian football were many.
“We lacked trained personnel, our clubs and leagues are weak, no proper facilities [and the little we had] were all concentrated in Banjul and Kanifing regions. We also found out that the Secretariat wasn’t properly structured and there is a big mismatch between the number of matches and infrastructure. We took a conscious step and a long term project of developing infrastructure which is never a popular decision but we knew it would be like this,” Mr. Jammeh said.
“We want to promote all aspects of our football by improving capacity and infrastructure which is culminating with this groundbreaking handing over of three mini stadiums all in the West Coast Region. This is the first time in the history of the GFF that the Federation is building a modern stadium from scratch to host all aspects of our football. We will also build similar projects in each of the five regions of North Bank (Kuntair), Lower River (Kweinalla), Central River (Bansang), Upper River (Basse) and Bullock in Foni.”
He added that the GFF employed the services of Fenta Consultants and Architects to accompany us through the process. He further stated that there was an open tender managed by Fenta where FIFA have been updated every step along the way. Mr. Jammeh said the first phase will see the construction of the swimming pool and the grass field which is expected to be completed within six months. He added that the NTTC will serve as the home of Gambian football with the availability of unique facilities such as a Football Hotel, a swimming pool, a center of excellence, home for our national junior teams, clinic, gymnasium, grass pitch, mini stadium, and an auditorium hall.
“I’ve been in football for 40 years and I hear many people say golden days of Gambian football but I don’t think there has ever been a golden age in our football because we have never won the Zone II until recently and we’ve never qualified for any major tournament at senior level. This is because we never sow the seeds of sustainable football development and this is what we envisaged thus the gathering today. This facility doesn’t exist anywhere in the world and the place was a rundown area but today the GFF is a model for development at FIFA,” he said, while thanking FIFA and its Dakar, Senegal, office for the continuous support.
The President of the GFF, Mr. Bajo, assured the community of Old Yundum that as long as there is the smallest space available at the facility, it would be needed for further development. He said accessing the funds from FIFA requires a very tedious process but assured the community of further development, adding that once the project is complete, it will be made accessible to the community. He frowned upon the encroachment of the space preserved for a parking spot for the Stadium.
Mr. Alieu Saine, the Chairman of the Village Development Committee (VDC) said the community has been observing and enumerating the progress of the Football Hotel since initial construction nearly two decades ago. He singled out the General Manager, Mr. Lamin Sanneh for transforming the place. He also went back memory lane to more than 25 years ago when the current President of the GFF helped the community to secure a reserve land that today they have built a football field, market, health center, and school. He described today’s event as a giant step towards football development in Old Yundum and The Gambia at large.
The Principal of Fenta Consultants and Architects, Mr. Baboucarr Samega Janneh, said when the GFF initiated these projects, it had a very clear understanding of what it wants to do. He said there was a national tender process advertised in the papers and the eventual awarding and signing of the contracts between the Federation and Smartex.
Abdou Karim Sey, the President of the West Coast Regional Football Association (WCRFA) thanked the GFF for the two projects in Old Yundum and Busumbala, noting that they belong to the entire country.
Ismaila Jallow, the Vice Chairman of the Brikama Area Council (BAC) hailed the GFF for the tremendous strides towards football development in The Gambia. He assured the Council’s support in further developing the facilities. “You have done extremely well for Gambian football and the country appreciates that. With these facilities in place, we will be talking of qualifying to the World Cup,” Mr. Jallow said in direct address to the GFF.
At Busumbala, the same speakers made similar remarks. The Chairman of the VDC, Mr. Nfansu Jatta thanked the GFF for the project. He said the field was demarcated in the 1970s for a day like today and assured of the community’s support in the implementation of the project. Mr. Jammeh thanked the elders of Busumbala for the foresight while Mr. Bajo explained that the decision to award the project to the village went through a very fair process.
The National Assembly Member for the Constituency, Honourable Saikouba Jarju said the decision to award the project to Busumbala wasn’t an error. He said he always boosts of verse land in the community for any form of development. He observed that what Gambian football lacks is proper infrastructure, noting that, with a facility like what is about to be put up in Busumbala, there will be more professional players who will find football as a decent source of living, thus closing the huge unemployment gap in the country.
“I, therefore, advised the government to increase its funding to sports because with proper funding, football has the potential to employ a lot of people. I once asked the Minister of Sports at Parliament that they kept bashing at the GFF but let him tell me their own expenditure in sports but he couldn’t give me the right answer. Today, I want to assure the GFF that if I have a different thinking towards them, I’ve changed that,” he concluded.
A similar handing over ceremony would be held in the village of Gunjur in the Kombo South District later today.
