The pilot phase of the GFF Summer Camp held at the NTTC in Yundum has come to an end following the closing ceremony held on Saturday 23rd September. The Summer Camp was attended by athletes from schools such as Gambia Senior Secondary School, Mingdaw, Mahad, Muslim High, Sheikh Mass Kah and Bottrop. Twenty boys and twenty girls were selected from the GT Bank Principals Cup and used as the first entrants of a pilot phase project designed to be a test for future nationwide programs.
The objectives of the camp included giving an opportunity for students to learn and further develop technical and tactical skills, to give them an insight into the nutrition and diet to perform to their best and to guide them in the right direction. The students were also given an introduction into the Scorpions Code of Conduct as well as Rules and Regulations. The students were also afforded the chance to learn about the history of Gambian football, meet former players and were offered advice in order to make the best of their opportunities.
A number of training and classroom sessions were held over the five days, which culminated in test matches for both the boys and girls which allowed them a chance to implement some of what they had learned.
Standing in for GFF President Lamin Kabba Bajo, WCR Regional FA President, Abdou Karim Sey concluded, ‘This is a remarkable start for the GFF Summer Camps program and shows our focus and readiness to support grassroots football. This is just the beginning and we intend to do much more to implement our vision for the future of Gambian football.’
Ismaila Ceesay, President of the Secondary Schools Sports Association who partnered with the GFF in the implementation of this pilot phase project added, ‘It is a great delight to see so many students take part in such a program. We are very happy to have worked with the GFF on this pilot and am sure that the findings from this project will be used for future camps. The biggest beneficiaries are the participants and this is a huge plus for their development’.
Matarr Mboge, U17 Head Coach and the lead coordinator of the program summarised, ‘I must congratulate all who took part in the summer camp that has proven to be a great first step. This is a good sign that grassroots football has been given a spotlight and with further support and programs, we will see a strong foundation at grassroots level.’
There are further pilot phase camps due in the coming months, please keep up to date on this website for further news.
