A delegation from the Guinea Bissau Football Federation ended a two-day study tour visit of The Gambia Football Federation today. Led by its President Carlos Alberto Mendes Teixeira, the 11-man delegation started with a courtesy call on the Executive Committee of the GFF yesterday at Football House where they held bilateral talks followed by a visit to the West Coast Regional Football Association.
Following a conducted tour of facilities at the Football Hotel and National Technical Training Centre (NTTC), the GFF also held a PowerPoint Presentation, taking their Bissau Guinean counterparts through our National Football Development Plan as part of the FIFA Forward Program 2.0 at the Old Yundum facility.
The first presentation was led by the First Vice President Mr. Bakary K. Jammeh who highlighted some of the giant strides made under the leadership of Mr. Lamin Kaba Bajo through our National Football Development Plan. His presentation also covered the state of football development in The Gambia before and after 2014, the achievements and shortfalls. Jammeh, who doubles as the FIFA Projects Manager for the GFF, talked about the good governance principles in place and highlighted the achievements registered on the side of the overall development of football from grassroots to regional, elite and national teams.
He also dilated on the giant strides made in the area of capacity building through the program called the Coaches, Administrators, Referees and Medics (CARM) training, the support to league clubs, the support to our clubs playing in continental competitions amongst others.
The Technical Director of the GFF, Mr. Sang John Ndong also made a presentation on the roles and responsibilities of his department at the Federation. The former Scorpions goalkeeper and National Team Coach, who was presenting in fluent Portuguese, discussed about his Department’s priorities and challenges, the positive impact of the FIFA Forward 2.0 Program in capacity building and other technical areas. Ndong also discussed the importance his Department attaches to grassroots and youth football, key amongst which is school football and the annual grassroots football jamboree.
The GFF’s Competitions Director, Mr. Baboucarr Jobe also presented on the structure of the various domestic Gambian leagues, and the pre-season Club Management meetings organised by the Federation, which he said is very important towards the smooth running of the leagues. He further discussed extensively on player registration, especially the uncontracted players and dispute resolution through the Players’ Status Committee.
The Women’s Football Coordinator, Sainey Sissoho M’Boge made a brilliant presentation on women’s football development, which captured the attention of President Carlos. She took the delegation through the various structures that are in place in terms of women’s football and their competitions as well as national teams.
The highlight of the program was be the signing of a five-year cooperation agreement between the two Federations. The agreement, is geared towards cooperation in order to develop strong ties between the two Federations for the mutual benefit of each federation and for the promotion, growth and continued success of football in each country. The agreement, amongst other things, is centred around the areas of general management, marketing, promotional activities, sport facilities, technical & conditional coaching, refereeing, football management & technical matters, women’s and youth football.
