Ousman Basi Conateh, widely known as Fisco, has been credited for playing a very critical role in the revitalisation of cricket in The Gambia.
Fisco is a household name in The Gambia and around the sub-region particularly his involvement with his beloved Wallidan Football Club; but few people are aware of his involvement in other sports, especially cricket.
He was an all-time sportsman; a cyclist and a cricketer during his youthful days. An ex-international Gambian cricketer, Fisco, started his involvement in sports administration with cycling and cricket as early as 1952 until the formation of Wallidan Football Club in 1969. The Blues, together with Gambia Ports Authority, remain the only two football clubs that have cricket teams in the various leagues. Wallidan also has a basketball team in the national league.
Cricket was very dormant in The Gambia throughout the most part of the 70s and the 80s but two decades after the formation of Wallidan FC, the national sport was to make a dramatic turn for the good and as destiny would have it, Fisco was to play a critical role in this. It was in the year 1989 when he was on a mission to the State House and met enthusiastic and energetic young people who, a year earlier, had set themselves the goal to revive a sport that has been played in this country since the 1920s.
“It was in 1989 when Fisco was going to State House and met us playing cricket at the July 22nd Square [then called McCarthy Square] and he stopped and commended us for staying true and committed to the game that we love,” Johnny Gomez, the President of The Gambia Cricket Association, recalled in an exclusive interview with Observer Sports yesterday.
“What we didn’t expect was that Fisco would return the next Saturday and hand us two bags of cricket equipment without us making any request. Those materials were very strong and durable and we were using them until the year 2000. So Fisco definitely has played a great role in the revitalisation of Gambian cricket and we have to salute him for that,” Gomez added.
Wallidan Football Club was established under similar circumstances when some boys (grandparents now) came to him for assistance to form a football club, notable among them was Alhaji Babou Sowe (now deceased) and Abdoulie Ngum. Fisco gave the club his time and resources since day one and he was credited for fully taking care of the educational and accommodation needs of the players, as well as turning the fortunes of the club into the most successful in Gambian football history.
He once told Observer Sports in an interview: “For me, Wallidan is my food. It’s my second wife. I am married to Wallidan and I will not stop at anything to make sure Wallidan is always at the peak. We have won doubles, triples and we have broken all the national records. And even at CAF Championships League level, we made great strides. We’ve reached the quarter-final at one time and we could have moved to the top flight of African football if not for the lack of fund from the then football association.”
More details about the evolution of Gambian cricket and the various stakeholders who contributed in its revitalisation will be published in the subsequent editions of the Daily Observer and its weekend supplement, Observer Light.
by Baboucarr Camara