Gambia U-20 Coach Omar Sise has strongly appealed to the general public to give maxmum support to the team in its quest to qualify for next year’s African Youth Championship (AYC) in Zambia.
The team returned yesterday from the first leg in Sierra Leone where they defeated the home side 2-0. They arrived at the Banjul International Airport at exactly 05:15am onboard the Royal Air Maroc flight from Casablanca, Morocco.
The team was received on arrival by the President of The Gambia Football Federation, Lamin Kaba Bajo; and Alhagie Faye, a retired referee and a GFF Executive Committee member.
Speaking to Observer Sports at the Airport shortly after their arrival, Sise said he was very happy and proud of his players. “I am proud to be a Gambian and to do something that will make Gambians happy. I pray to God to keep us going. We worked very hard for the success,” he said.
The objective of the team, he said is to qualify the country to the African Youth Championship in Zambia and the World Cup in Japan. “We are going to work very hard to reach there and we need the support of all Gambians,” he emphasised.
With the team going back to camp this Monday ahead of the return leg on the 23rd April, Sise said he is expecting a couple of foreign-based players.
Abodulie Kah, the Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, who served as the head of the Gambian delegation to Sierra Leone, began by thanking all stakeholders in the journey, particularly the Ministry, for financing the trip. He also extended appreciation to the Gambia’s Ambassador to Sierra Leone, who mobilised Gambians in Makeni, Kono and Freetown to give the moral support to the boys.
DPS Kah said the boys were up to the task and had done everything right from the start to the end of the game. “I must also give thanks and appreciation to the coaching staff because they have done very well. I can say this, without reservation, that the future of Gambian football is in these Young Scorpions,” he told Observer Sports.
On the return leg, DPS Kah said the boys cannot afford to lose the game, going by the performance in the away tie.
Pa Omar Babou, who plays for Banjul United in the domestic first division league, and assistant captain of the team, said they were very happy and proud of themselves after the convincing win. “It had been a while since we [Gambia] tasted victory in our football; so we are very happy and proud of ourselves. We thank all Gambians for the support and prayers,” he remarked.
He went on: “We were ready for the game and were united as a family; thank God we got the victory.”
Babou added that the team is determined to follow in the foot-steps of the 2005 generation of Gambian footballers that won the African U-17 Cup in Banjul and went on to qualify for the African Youth Championship two years later and the 2007 U-20 World Cup in Canada. “We always discuss that and we want to set our own record so that when we leave people will talk about our good legacy. This is our aim and God willing we will achieve it.”
Before breaking into the national team setup, Pa Omar was a football fan and knows how painful it is for one’s team to lose, but he promised that the team will give their best to make the fans happy. “They will see football, entertainment and everything they have missed in Gambian football. We implore on the fans to come out and support the team.”
He described Coach Omar Sise as a great technician and knows what he is doing and treats his players equally and injects extra spirit in them. “We are like one family and always there for each other in terms of happiness and difficulties. We have to thank him [Omar Sise] and the entire coaching staff for the manner they treat us,” he concluded.
Bun Sanneh and Captain Ablie Jallow scored the goals in Makeni and speaking to Observer Sports, Sanneh said he was very happy to score his first goals for the country. “I dedicate my goal to my Dad and my family,” he added.
He said the spirit in the boys remains the same ahead of the return leg and promised to keep the fans’ hopes alive. “Omar Sise is a good coach and he always advises and gives us courage,” he added. He concluded by lauding the unity and oneness among the players and hopes that it continues.
The GFF President, Lamin Kaba Bajo, said he was very proud of the team and the technical staff, while reaffirming the Federation’s commitment to support the team all the way in the qualifiers.
by Alieu Ceesay