The Gambia Football Federation (GFF), on Sunday handed over the project for the construction of a modern mini stadium project from scratch in Gunjur, Kombo South. The project was handed over by the President of the Federation, Mr. Lamin Kaba Bajo, to its consultant Fenta Consultants and Architects who in turn handed over to the contractor, Jala Kolong Enterprises in a ceremony held at the said site.
The village field will witness the construction of a new grass pitch, uninterrupted water supply, and standard pavilion, going with all the facilities attached to it including changing rooms for players & referees, press room, doping room, offices amongst others.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Bajo urged Gambians to close their ranks and work together for the development of football in The Gambia. He cited countries like Cape Verde and Mauritania as examples, whose national teams that we used to beat but are today ahead of us. He emphasised the need for stability, noting that while Gambians continue to fight amongst themselves, those countries were busy working hard in developing all facets of their game and thus we can no longer compete with them.
He said The Gambia is a country where everyone has one way or the other kicked a football without being told to. He also noted that the Greater Banjul Area (GBA) has a better infrastructure compared to communities like Gunjur and that is one of the major reasons why the former always wins whenever they meet with the latter. He said some of the best talented footballers in the country are from Gunjur and Kartong but despite the poor infrastructure, they always give bigger teams the run for their monies.
“So if these communities have had a better infrastructure, we would’ve been saying a different story today. The kids that would start to play on this pitch once it is completed will be the luckiest because they would have had the best infrastructure to play on and then we will also be in our comfort zone of retirement, life permitting, with history judging us well for being part of that process,” he said.
“For the first time ever, all our regions have men’s third division and women’s third division teams and leagues being played regularly. We have appointed regional coaches and equipped them with motorbikes to scout young talents at their respective regions. [Our league clubs] suffer to transport their players to matches and this has contributed in killing many teams. But now we came up with a project to give preparatory money and transport fares to the teams and it has been very helpful to them. All these are done to ensure sustainable development in the game and it has gone to improve the standard of the league and competition.”
Mr. Bakary K. Jammeh, the GFF First Vice President and its FIFA Forward Projects Manager, said despite the widely known notion by some people, there was never a golden age for Gambian football, noting that even though we have the heart and desire, as a country, to do so, we do not have the readied materials to achieve it, notably because we lack players of the highest quality playing at the best leagues in Europe.
He said when the current leadership took over at Football House, there were series of issues that they were confronted with and they had to be addressed if they are to achieve their objective of football development. He added that these includes weak leagues and clubs as well as the national league concentrating in the Greater Banjul Area. He further noted that as a result of this, our second division clubs have no chance of winning the FA Cup. The infrastructure, he added, is lagging behind but the new direction is to play league matches from Kartong to Koina as well as to empower the regional football associations.
“We are agents of change thus we think of tomorrow and that is why these projects are long term, which sometimes can bring impatience, but we are still committed to the same course. We are improving the facilities at Stadiums within the Kanifing Municipality and new mini stadiums will be built from scratch in Kuntair, Bullock, Kweinalla, Bansang and Basse,” he said. “The Gambia is a model for project implementation at FIFA and this is why we are always selected to do presentations for Africa and FIFA events.”
Baboucarr Samega Janneh, the Principal of Fenta Consultants and Architects, said the design of the pavilion is done in such a way that it will accommodate all the facilities that are expected to be in place. He urged the people of Kombo South, and Gunjur in particular, to ensure that the GFF has value for money.
Honourable Kebba K. Barrow, the Member of Parliament for Kombo South and Majority Leader of the National Assembly tasked the Gunjur Sports Committee to ensure that the trust that the GFF leadership has in them is jealously safeguarded. He assured the Federation that he would personally do everything within his means to ensure that a good job is done for his people.
“This will be the first project that myself I’m volunteering to supervise. It is a monumental achievement and the benefits attached to it are numerous. This will increase the player pool in the community who can go on to perform at the highest level but most importantly it will help to create employment for the youth of Kombo South and Gunjur in particular,” he said, while thanking the GFF for the initiative.
Dembo Darboe, the representative of the Alkalo described the handing over as a pleasant surprise and at the same time an unprecedented development. He thanked the GFF for its foresight in developing football in The Gambia and choosing Gunjur as a beneficiary community while tasking the youth of the village to take ownership of the project.
Yaya Drammeh, the Assistant Public Relations Officer of the Gunjur Sports Committee gave the vote of thanks and hailed the Federation for bringing such a development project to the community.
The Gunjur handing over preceded by similar events in Old Yundum and Busumbala. All three events were attended by the Third Vice President, General Langtombong Tamba, Sadibou Kamaso & Alhaji Ebrima Faye, Executive Committee Members. The General Secretary, Lamin M. Jassey; Finance Director, Kemo Ceesay; Competitions Director, Baboucarr Camara; and TMS & IT Manager Omar Touray.
