Former US based international Soccer star of Gambian descent Anthony Sanneh (Tony) on Thursday 21st November 2019 visited Football House in Kanifing for a courtesy visit to the GFF President Lamin Kaba Bajo.
After hanging his boots from active football career, Tony now is the CEO of Sanneh Foundation established in 2003 to support community-based organizations and to assemble a supportive network within the society. His mission is to empower youth by supporting and promoting educational attainment through in school and after school.
Speaking at a brief ceremony with the GFF President at Football House, Tony expressed pleasure to be back to his native Gambia. He said he has come to the Smiling Coast to expand his Foundation. “I want to support football and my Foundation and since i am back to my home, i would be ready to do what it takes”. He explained the Foundation’s mission and objectives stating “it is to leverage what I saw as soccer’s unique potential to create positive social change for youth”. Tony retired from Professional Soccer in 2010 and becoming the organization’s full-time President and CEO of Tony Sanneh Foudation ( TSF). He is also the Sports Envoy on behalf of the Sports United Division of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. ” I worked in Cyprus, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Malaysia and Bolivia to further American cultural values of gender equity and respect for diversity”.
The GFF President said its a big opportunity for the Federation to meet Tony Sanneh. “We are pleased to received you and we will together look at ways of forging a partnership so as to open opportunities for our young players”. Kaba noted that the main preoccupation of the GFF is to promote and develop football in the country while ” we also search for opportunities to our young players that would make up into the Senior National Team”. He briefed Tony and his delegation about facilities at the National Technical Training Centre in Yundum “which very soon will turn into the School of Excellence”. He noted that football infrastructure in the Gambia is not much desired. However,” the GFF is doing very well to upgrade the existing infrastructure to the best standards”.
President Bajo hailed Tony as a great Ambassador for the Gambia during his playing days with the US. “We appreciate your coming to your homeland and we further encourage you to come forward as a Goodwill Ambassador for the GFF. “We will give you the authority to speak on behalf of the GFF and sell the image of the Federation”, Kaba told Tony.
Tony Sanneh was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota to a Gambian and an American mother from Wisconsin. He attended the St Paul Academy and Summit School where he played for the local soccer team, St. Paul Blackhawks. Tony graduated in 1990 having been selected twice to the All State team. He went on to play College Soccer for the NCAA Division 1 Milwaukee Panthers as a Striker and became the school’s all-time scoring leader, with 53 goals and 32 assists from 1990 to 1993. He was named an NCAA Second-Team All-American in 1993.