The pre-festival event was a rehearsal meant to induct school-going girls into technical schemes instructed by the LYG Ambassadors and co-ordinated generally by the GFF Women’s Football Co-ordinator Sainey Sissohore.
Four lower Basic Schools took part in the day long event and were engaged in series of dribbling, passing, ball control, attacking and defending skills which according to the instructors are basic pre-requisites to playing good football.
GFF Grassroots and Youth Manager Ebrima Nyassi said the school system is the best ground to breed talents and ‘ as such The Gambia Football Federation under our President Lamin Kabba Bajo deems it important to collaborate with the schools for tapping raw talents’. He said the essence of the program is to introduce skills into the girls but also encourage them to take their studies seriously, ‘ because sports and learning go together’.
Women’s Football Co-ordinator Sainey Sissohore said the final Live Your Goals girls festival will be held before the end of the year and that preparation for the grand event have begun in earnest. ‘This is a four year legacy program and the Gambia is one of a few countries that have benefited from this project. Our first two editions were held in the Greater Banjul Area ( NTTC) while the third and forth editions were hosted by the regions, Farafenni, NBR and Soma LRR. And this time our final event would be held in the CRR’, she disclosed.
The event was attended by GFF ExCO Member Ms Sainabou Cham who recently returned from the Netherlands on a two-day Women’s Football Leadership seminar. Ms Cham encouraged the girls and urged them to take part in football to gain more meaningful results. All the participating schools were donated a set of learning materials and balls.