FIFA RECOGNISES PRESIDENT JAMMEH’S SUPPORT TO FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT

The Gambian leader, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh’s continuous support to the development of football in the country has been recognised by FIFA. This was disclosed by Omar Sey, the chairman and spokesperson of the Normalisation Committee of the Gambia Football Association (GFA), during a recent exclusive interview with the Daily Observer.

He said FIFA president Sepp Blatter acknowledged President Jammeh’s contributions during a recent meeting with the Gambia’s Sports minister, Alieu K Jammeh. According to Sey, Blatter acknowledged and thanked the Gambian leader for his support to Gambian football in Zurich when Minister Jammeh travelled to meet him [Blatter] after the Normalisation Committee was set up in March 2012.

“Blatter told the minister to extend his greetings to the president. He said he heard that President Jammeh has been doing a lot in supporting football and didn’t say these things lightly,” Sey further disclosed. He added that the Gambia government’s efforts in football development have been recognised and praised by football’s world governing body.

Pacesetter in football development President Jammeh over the last 18 years has helped tremendously in the development of sports in general and football in particular, in this country. In 2004, he staged a Peace Tournament in Banjul, in which teams from eight West African countries participated, ahead of the following year’s African U-17 Championship, also hosted by The Gambia. The tournament was won by the hosts, and that set the stage for the country’s numerous successes in football that have continued to change the lives of the youths.

The Gambian team then hosted and won the 2005 African U17 Championship on home soil and the Gambian leader airlifted nearly 200 fans to cheer the boys on at the World Cup later that year in Peru. He did the same thing when the U-20 participated at the African and World Youth Championships in 2007 in Congo Brazzaville and Canada respectively.

In 2008, President Jammeh secured the Belgian Paul Put on a four-year contract to coach the Senior Scorpions and a year later, gave a D1 million to each of the players and officials of the 2009 African U-17 Championship winning team. He had earlier given out lands to senior national team players in 2003, and also to the 2005 U-17 winning team. The president’s latest kind gesture came during the 2012 Women’s U-17 World Cup in Azerbaijan, when he sponsored 50 Gambian fans to cheer the girl scorpions.

Author: by Babucarr Camara