Former Senegalese captain and ex-African Player of the Year, Elhadji Diouf has urged Gambians to stop football agents from selling players in Norway, Sweden and Finland based on what he described as no reasons.
The Gambia Football Federation, (GFF), he said, needs to make sure that players are sold to right clubs and not allow greedy agents to do whatever they wish. He said the country has good young talents that can qualify the country to the African Cup of Nations and World Cup.
Diouf, who had a successful football career in France and also played twelve years of professional football in England, never minces his words. He was recently in the country on the invitation of the Sports Journalists’ Association of The Gambia (SJAG) and was speaking on Friday during the Association’s Awards and Gala Night.
He urged The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) to properly nurture young players so as to bring glory to the country.
Diouf also used the night to share his story with the young talents, explaining that he came from a family where his grandmother used to sell groundnut on the streets. He urged the young talents to be committed and focus on their footballing career.
“I came from a poor family as my grandmother was selling groundnut, and I did not know my father at that time. I was brought up by my mother, though I don’t hold anything against my father and now am having a very close and good relationship with him. As humans you need to be hardworking, determined and ambitious,” he charged.
The former Liverpool, Bolton Wanderers and Leeds United winger also on Saturday watched the U-20 team defeat Sierra Leone 2-0 in the ongoing qualifiers for the 2017 U-20 tournament in Zambia.
After the game, Diouf who met the players at their dressing room, said he was happy with the performance of the team and urged them to remain united. “I have seen good talents and it is convincing you can one day qualify the country to the African Cup of Nations and World Cup. You have to be committed and one day you can be like me,” Diouf told the players.
He encouraged them to remain focused in order to be written in the history books of Gambian football, while warning them to be mindful of some scrupulous football agents.
by Arfang MS Camara & Alieu Ceesay
