The Pa Jay-Jewo Jammeh Cricket Ground was handed over to the Governor of the West Coast Region, Siffai Hydara, on Saturday, in a ceremony held at the site at Jamisa Lower Basic School in Brikama.
The handing over of the facility, named after President Jammeh’s grandfather, was held in the form of a colourful ceremony and was attended by senior Government officials. Also in attendance were ward councilors, the Region’s Education Director, Chairman of the Brikama Area Council, the Alkalo of Brikama, teachers, coaches and sports coordinators, school children, elders of Brikama, Imams and cultural groups.
Johnny Gomez, the President of the Association, thanked God for helping them to fulfill such a mission. He added that despite their lack of financial resources, they made the bold move to build this project in an attempt to decentralise the sport across the country.
He expressed delight and appreciation to His Excellency the President, Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Jammeh Babili Mansa, an ardent supporter of Gambian cricket, for allowing them to name the pitch after his grandfather, who was a great traditional healer, whose specialty was treating broken bones and compound fractures, amongst others.
The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Momodou Lamin Ceesay, who represented the Minister at the event, spoke about the Ministry’s delight to be associated with such an event. He thanked the Association for this project and urged them to continue their quest to decenralise the game to all regions of the country. He assured the Association that his Ministry would do all it could to give all the necessary support.
The vote of thanks was delivered by Anthony Jammeh, who thanked the Association on behalf of His Excellency the President, and the Jammeh family. Jammeh, who was accompanied by some elders from Kanilai, male and female, gave a brief history of Pa Jay-Jewo Jammeh, and the reason why His Excellency allowed the Association to use his name on the pitch.
“Pa Jay-Jewo treated many sportsmen who had broken bones and all types of fractures; he brought smiles to many who went to him with pain and came out completely healed,” he said. “Patients were brought from England, France, Senegal and other countries for the old man to treat them. I, therefore, express my sincere thanks and pray that the pitch would be well utilised for the game in the Region.”
The Governor in her speech expressed appreciation on behalf of her Region and its people to the Association for what she described as a valuable gift for the schools and teams in WRC. She noted that cricket as one of the fastest growing sports in The Gambia would not be dealing with sports only, but the core values of life, honesty, integrity, communication, responsibility, care and sharing, tolerance and staying away from child delinguency.
She urged the West Coast Regional Sports Committee and the schools to take advantage of the project, by involving students to organise leagues for both male and female, and community cricket for the whole region. She assured the Association that her office’s doors would always be open to them.
After the various speeches, a plaque was unveiled by the Governor and Anthony Jammeh, which saw the pitch officially handed over to the Governor with brand new cricket equipment.
After the handing over ceremony, a cricket match was played between Brikama and Banjul U-17 teams. It was the home side that won the first game of the pitch.
