The President of The Gambia Football Federation (GFF), Mr. Lamin Kaba Bajo, has sent an emotional farewell message to Gambia Captain Pa Modou Jagne who played his last game with FC Zurich over the weekend following the end of his two-year contract.
Nda, as he is fondly called, will now search for a new club. The 29-year-old joined FC Zurich in June 2017 on an initial two-year deal following the end of his similar number of years’ spell with FC Sion. He has won the 2015 Swiss Cup with Sion and were losing finalists in 2017 before winning the title again with Zurich in 2018.
“Our hearty congratulations to [our National Team] skipper Nda [Pa Modou Jagne] on his invaluable contribution to the progress of the team [FC Zurich]. We wish him every success in his future endeavours. He has found a place for himself in the football history of our dear country. He’s a living legend. We are proud of you Nda. Keep it up,” Mr. Bajo wrote on his official Facebook page on Sunday.
Following his exploits at the 2005 African and FIFA World U-17 Championship in The Gambia and Peru respectively, Nda starred for the Young Scorpions at the U-20 World Cup in Canada in 2017. He would leave boyhood club, Gambia Ports Authority, that summer for FC Wil in Switzerland where he played his entire professional career up to date.
He also played for FC St. Gallen until his eventual free transfer to FC Sion in the summer of 2013. He made his debut with Sion in a 2-0 away defeat to Young Boys of Bern. He also joined FC Zurich on a free transfer and made his debut in a 2-0 away win over Grasshoppers FC.
Following his return to full fitness, Nda Jagne is expected to begin the next stage of his career but his immediate focus returns to national team duties as he is set to guide the Scorpions in their 12-day training camp in Marrakesh, Morocco, where they will play test matches with the hosts and Guinea Conakry national teams.
Since breaking into the senior national team of The Gambia more than a decade ago, Nda has been a consistent fixture in the setup and has made every squad list as long as he is available for selection. Together with Ebrima Sohna, the duo are the only surviving players of their 2005 generation still playing in the National Team.
