Tomaa,

It is very good that you forwarded this article. While the rest of us should go on discussing how relations between our two countries should be mended and improved after the recent tragedy, it is of some moment to listen to the opinions of those whose team efforts is the major reason Gambia's name is being recognised in the sporting world. More than anything else, football has become a national mobilising force more powerful than most other cultural events. 

(I mentioned wrestling in a previous commentary because added to it being indegenous, it  also engages an important cross-section of the population. When Mrs. Aminata Faal Sonko was SOS for Youth and Sports, she spent a lot of time arranging contests between Gambian and Senegalese teams. These were very popular events and I attended one of them in May 1995. I have no clue as to why the contests were later stopped but I had gathered from the minister that some forces were against this friendship promoting event right from the very beginning).

Mr. Koro Sallah used to demand that people be given free passage to the football games at Box Bar stadium if he were to play at all. Perhpas I need to interview Mr. Sallah about the motives behind his famous demands, but it is not unimaginable that even since the sixties and seventies mismanagement, favouritism and corruption in Gambian football and athletics were commonplace. Inspite of our very small size, Gambia has produced dozens of talented world-class footballers. Yet most of these names just die out as candle flames before even becoming national heroes. And most of us have definitely heard of their complaints about the apparent neglect, apathy and privation they suffer at the hands of officials from the GFA and sports ministry. 
I was gadding about in central Bamako in 1983 when I accidentally bumped into members of the national squad. All of them were dispirited about the paltry £20 Sterling they got as pocket money for a week-end in the Malian capital. I think Saihou Sarr was team captain then, but the Gambian team was so short on morale that they apparently lost the match even before kick-off. Malians, however still remember Biri's great goal in a match they won by 2 goals to 1. Gambian players offer their souls for the nation despite acute awareness of the fact that because of a lack of an insurance policy, breaking a leg for Gambia becomes a personal responsibility.

It is very important that Jato Ceesay and others speak out about what goes on inside the GFA and other organs of sports in the country if the promises of our young talents should  translate into fulfilled dreams. As Baboucarr Saho once told me, very many Gambian talented footballers have turned into huge personal tragedies and part of the blame for that lies squarely on the shoulders of the Gambia government. It is time that the beens are spilled.

I am still wondering why Mr. Gabbi Sosseh was on Senegalese TV with Senegalese stars Joof and Fadiga when he did not even have the managerial courtesy to visit our injured and berieved team? He should have been sacked since Sunday!

Momodou S Sidibeh


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Momodou Camara" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2003 5:59 PM
Subject: FWD:Foreign-Based Players Threaten Squad Boycott


Foreign-Based Players Threaten Squad Boycott

http://allafrica.com/stories/200306130012.html

The Independent (Banjul)
NEWS
June 13, 2003
Posted to the web June 13, 2003
Banjul

The Gambia's foreign-based players, who took part in Saturday's African
Nations Cup qualifier against the "Lions" of Senegal, have threatened to
boycott national duties in the future if The Gambia Football Association
(GFA) fails to improve their condition and give them more consideration and
respect.

Speaking on West Coast Radio, Scorpions captain, Jatto Ceesay who missed
Saturday's crucial match said in no uncertain terms that his participation
in the squad's next outing is in doubt as long as the country's football
governing body overlooks the need to improve conditions of members of the
squad.

Jatto said that during their game in Dakar, the GFA obstinately refused to
provide tickets for players who were not part of the team and thought that
such a situation was uncalled for.

He said that as a professional player who made a pivotal contribution to
the stalemate of the Gambia-Senegal clash in Banjul, he was standing behind
the perimeter fence of the Leopold Sedat Senghore stadium where he was at
the mercy of Senegalese security forces and fans who threw stones at him
after he was recognised for who he was.

"My life was in danger during the entire 90 minutes" claimed Jatto who
demanded that Gambian players especially those coming from abroad to answer
to the nation's call should be accorded more respect and attention by the
GFA.

Jatto said that the GFA cares about players only when a crucial match was
at hand and cares less about them when it is all over.

"Unless we are treated as professional players, we will not come to play
for the Scorpion" said the disappointed Willem II midfielder.

"It is unbelievable that GFA can't provide five V.I.P tickets for players
who were not selected to play that day" Jatto Ceesay complained.

Ebou Sillah, who wore the team's armband in Dakar following Jatto's
suspension also complained about the attitude of the GFA president Gabbi
Sosseh who never visited the players' camp after the match to ascertain
whether they were secured. Sillah said Mr. Sosseh was nowhere near their
area despite the fact that an official car from the Senegalese FA and
security were at his disposal.

Ebou Sillah said that before, during and after the troubled game in Dakar
Mr. Sosseh was nowhere to be found.

That complaint from Ebou Sillah was countered by the treasurer of the GFA
Dodou Gaye, who explained that Mr. Sosseh was not part of the Gambian
delegation to Dakar, an argument that did not go well with football fans,
who questioned why Mr. Sosseh did not visit the team when everybody knew
that he was in Dakar. They said at no time was his visit to the players
more important than during Saturday's charged post-match atmosphere.

Momar Njie, another professional player in Austria, said that while in
Dakar, they were made to sit on the bare floor of the dressing room because
there were no chairs. He said GFA officials should have complained to the
match Commissioner and to the Senegalese FA. He also questioned what the
GFA was doing to honestly promote and develop football in The Gambia.

He made heads to turn when he revealed that when the U-17 was about to go
to Swaziland for the CAF championships, the team was without the requisite
sports wear, prompting him and his brother Abdou Njie to negotiate with
Jako, a company in Germany for the acquisition of sports wears for the
team.

Other players like Kemo Ceesay and Abdou Njie shared the same views.



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