Bakau community celebrates Biko´s league glory

Victory celebration marking the first ever league title for Giant Killers of Bakau Steve Biko FC continues in grand fashion in the community on Saturday afternoon at the Bakau Bantaba. A caravan of over fifty vehicle tour the Grater Banjul Area starting from Bakau to Senegambia, Brufut turntable and enter Sukuta through highway linking to Westfield via Kairaba Avenue to return home late in the evening.

Meanwhile, celebration continues at night with a free music show at the Bakau Community center organized by die heart supports of the club from the community. Being one of oldest Gambian community based league club has higher more than six coaches’ national and international since its formation in 1978 prominent among them was the former Senegalese international the later Joe Fransuare Bokaneh during the FTI partnership.

Since its formation, the club has produces many national team players at all categories’ of the national teams which no one can dispute the fact. For the first time the club has be coach by a young tactician like Abdoule Bojang using only young players all below twenty six years of age, while the past coaches uses player more than ages of Bojang´s young lads. The only coach who went to this year´s league competition with young and inexperienced first division players after ten from his last year´s team went for external contract.

Forget about event of two years ago when Steve Biko FC finishes in the bottom two of the then GFA league after securing a draw in their last game at the Independence Stadium in the presences of hundreds of home supports. But Biko FC was later promoted to the first division when a plane to increased the first division clubs from ten to twelve teams was announced since the beginning of the season by the former executive of the then Gambia Football Association (GFA).

Perhaps the lowest performance for Biko in the recent years, Coach Abdoulie Bojang hardly recover from that poor finished record, the stick of criticism he received from the die heart supports of the club in Bakau and the press as well went too far at the time. But how fitting for a man to amends in public and in a manner that has a feverish KG5 Mini Stadium on Wednesday on its feet to salute this solitary victory over Hawks FC.

Wednesday’s match was a fitting final to absorbing contest in which the two teams played contrasting roles in the two different halves of the game. It was a win for every Bakau fan, Coach Abdoulie Bojang and his team of technicians will take more of the credit, more importantly the entire board managing the affairs of the club since its formation.

The entire board of Steve Biko FC gambles to maintain Coach Abdoulie Bojang after the event of poor performance two years ago which has rekindled new questions about the man then, but the decision to maintain him paid off handsomely. However this single victory on Wednesday should not disguise a rather poor performance in the second round need to be addressed critically before starting the Africa Club Championship tournament campaign later this year after drawing nine out of eleven matches.

Speaking to TODAY Sport in an interview at the celebration ground one Sainey Sanyang a former player of the club said they have looking this for a quit a long time since his time as a player, but he never lucky, adding that God decide that it will come after their time. He expresses his satisfaction for the support render to the club by the community people, according time him it was a long time struggle which does not go without the full and active support of the community.

He went further to said ``we have been struggling this for the past three and half decades and never get it, but this young players whom among them the oldest is twenty five and below makes us happy, so we are very much proud of them to be candied. During our time there where better player in the team more than this people, but nobody achieved this type of glory in league competition, ``Sainey Sanyang said.

Sanyang describe Coach Abdoulie Bojang as a legend and mentor in the community who devoted all his time for development of football in Bakau. ``For the past ten years, Bakau has being producing young and talented players and he is the brain man behind all this development, so is high time that Gambians should it. Football is not all about nepotisms or segregation let’s give the devil its due if we want progress in our football. Anybody can attest to the fact that the team this year is full of young stars, so Biko is the only team that produces and sell players more than any club throughout the country,`` he said.

``One must attribute this victory to the coach, in those days Biko deal with old age players, the youngest among them then was twenty five years, now the case is opposite, the oldest player in the team this year is twenty six years. When the man took over he succeeded in transforming the old method. Last year the club sells more than ten key players from team, but it does not the least affect the team being the only coach who has more sixty players annually, while other teams’ normal has only thirty players for the season other below that figure? This is a giant step, whom much is given much is expected so we going, `` he said.

He concluded sating that ``the funniest thing of it is that Biko is among the most successful teams in The Gambia, but financial they are back worded one. Abdoulie Bojang is struggling to put everything in place using his knowledge and time. Therefore at this juncture, I want to call on the stakeholders to come and join him and do thing together. It has now reached the stage of national issue where Biko will be representing the country in the next CAF club championship, so we will need their full participation and help``.

Adnan Musa a technical staff of the team said the victory was dreams come through for the club after player many seasons without trophy. According him they were hopeful of winning the league when the first round ends, even though their second round performance was not good as expected, but also their opponents for the tile race were also not winning when they were dropping points along the way.

He commend the community of Bakau for their support special when the whole community turnout to cheer the boys in the last league game at the KG5 Mini Stadium in Banjul, despite away game the stadium was full to capacity by Bakau fans who were not disappointedly return home on Wednesday, Adnan Musa said.

He remain optimistic that his team Biko will exile in CAF club championship when they represent the country, but he was quick to highlight that they will improve the strength of the team before the beginning of the tournament to avoid conceding more draws like in the GFF 2012-2013 season second round where they drew nine games out of eleven. He commended Abdoulie Bojang for a job well done and described him as a best coach and mentor who deserve to emulate by young coaches residing in the community and beyond.

For Steve Biko´s most fastest and creative striker Sulayman Sanyang alias R9 share a similar sentiment with the previous speakers and added that as a young player, he fell very proud to won the league. According to him, it is the dream of every young player to will the trophy special in your first year.

``At the beginning of the season, I never thought we were going to win the league because we lost ten key players from the team went for external contracts, but as we went into the meet first round, the performance of the players was improving significantly, it was then I started having the hope that once we kept the speed we shall surely win it,`` he said.

He conclude by saying that Abdoulie Bojang is the best coach in The Gambia adding that all the players for the team are from the academy, ``some of us struggle under him at the academy for five years and today we are all promoted to the first team. For me I think he is the only coach meant for Biko and he should be there forever,`` he said.