Football has become a global resource, and not only can it put a country
on the global map, but can certainly affect a country’s economy, and
bring about an international recognition that can spill over to other
areas. It is also a fact that successes in football can rekindle
nationalism in a positive way, and if exploited wisely can bring about
political stability. The recent discussion on the G-l about Gambian
soccer, the acquiring of funds from CAF for the building of a sport
complex, and the proposal for the Gambia to host the under seventeen
tournament have really convinced me that maybe Gambian soccer needed to
be given a serious look. And where else can any issue get an objective,
unbiased and controversial analysis than the Bantaba, ( laugh) so let
the game begin.

The Gambia, according to Sports Historian has been involved in organized
football longer than most African countries. Biri Biri, a name that
epitomized success in Gambia football is a clear testimony the level
that Gambian football has gotten. The skills exhibited by this
individual, even today, Biri’s skills in football can be ranked with the
best that ever played the game. There were numerous talented players
created by a structure, and it is this same structure that can rescue
Gambian football. Gambian soccer once had a mass appeal in the metro
area and in major towns in the country, and this can be credited to the
organized competition at all levels. At the Primary schools level, we
have had the Malfa/Campama rivalry, Mohammedan/Wesley rivalry, and out
of these schools at an early age, professional players were been formed.
At the high schools: GHS, St Augustines, Crab Island, Armitage schools
and Junior Secondary competitions became the breeding ground for the
talents that would find their ways to the Real, Walidans, Kwame and the
Starlights. And I am sure, to some extend this is still the case, but
the lack of serious organizing of these tournaments at this level can be
partly responsible for some of the challenges facing Gambian football.
Take some of those finances and resources, and invest in soccer at the
Primary level and high schools by designing effective and serious
competition, and this would eventually bring about a competitive league
program.

Like everything else in our country, success can only happen when we ask
the real questions. I am sure the Gambia football association has been
raising these questions and dealing with these challenges, but maybe the
G-L can give a serious look at the sport in the context of what happen
to Gambian football? What led to the downward spiral? What happen to the
interest level? Or is a question of people are confronted with issues of
economic survival that are more important than football? How can we get
to where our neighboring Senegal has gotten? I am full of envy and
wished it were we and not they. What do we have to start doing to get to
the African cup of nations? What do we need to do on a long-term
strategy to one day find the Gambia in the world cup? Maybe by
attempting to diagnose the problem of what happen to Gambian football,
hopeful we can come up with proposals and solutions that can at least
begin to restore Gambian football where it really belongs.

Thanks

Musa Jeng

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