The President of The Gambia Football Federation, (GFF), Mr. Lamin Kaba Bajo, over the weekend, handed over stack of new uniforms to elite Gambian referees.
The handing over ceremony was held on Saturday morning at the Independence Stadium, Bakau, and brought together 30 elite A and 45 elite B referees as well as 25 assessors who all benefited from the gesture.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Bajo highlighted the significant steps taken to achieve the support through his compatriot and President of the Saudi Arabia Football Federation. While expressing gratitude to the Saudi Federation through its President for the benevolent gesture and bilateral brotherly relationship, he urged the beneficiaries to make best use of the kits and improve their preparedness ahead of the new season.
“I’m able to get these because refereeing is a special passion for me. I saw the challenge in uniformity in some cases and thought of reaching out for help and thanks to our beloved Saudi FA, we are able to serve you all with these gears and it might interest you to also know that we have one of our clubs (Wallidan) currently in a two-week preseason camp in Saudi which is made possible through the bilateral relationship.” He further noted that Wallidan only caters for their air tickets while the Saudi Arabia Federation is fully responsible for their accommodation and feeding throughout the camp.
The items included four sets of different colours handed to elite A referees, two sets of different colours for elite B referees which are all branded with the GFF logo and their respective name tags as well as tracksuits for elite A referee assessors. Over 20 more uniforms are expected to be presented to the regional female referees.
John Frank Mendy, Chairman of the Referees Association expressed gratitude to the GFF boss for the gesture, which he described as timely. He urged referees to make best use of the kits and consistently safeguard the principles of fair play.
Bakary Papa Gasama, Gambia and Africa’s best referee, who also benefited from the gesture thanked both Federations while assuring the donors of their continued efforts to keep the standards.
Others present at the presentation ceremony were Alagie Ebrima Faye GFF ExCo member, Modou Sowe, first Vice President of the Referees Association, Seedy Manneh, Referees Manager of the GFF and members of The Gambia Referees Association.
