Football items for Gambia Rush Soccer Club Academy

A charitable organisation based in Switzerland, FVH, through Better Community Association of Bakau, recently donated football items to Gambia Rush Soccer Club Academy.

The donation was part of the Swiss organisation's contribution towards the development of communities and grassroots football in the country.

The donated items included 15 footballs, sin guards, goalkeeper gloves and trousers, some socks, 30 pairs of football boots for children and young people, and 40 sets of jerseys.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony held at the Steve Biko Football Field in Cape Point, Bakau, the president of Better Community Association who also doubles as the representative of FVH, Joy Buchanan, said the aim and objectives of her organisation is to support communities.

According to Buchanan, the association is affiliated to a charity called FVH in Switzerland, whose role is to build bridges through other charities and philanthropists at home and abroad for mutual benefit.

She revealed that her personal involvement in charity work started from presentation of charity, which has contributed to the development of The Gambia for more than 10 years, adding that they have involved in a series of projects in The Gambia including water project, a computer room project in Sukuta, as well as a nursery school in Brikama Jamisa among other projects.

The vice president of the association, Lamin Sillah, said the academy has trained some players for the national U-17 team who have been very much successful and has since won trophies for The Gambia among other achievements.

The secretary of the association, Alieu Badjie, for his part, said the initiative is mainly geared towards helping to develop sports at the grassroots level.

He added that their association has assisted many projects in the country, which include developing players and supporting women's affairs in education.

For his part, the manager of Rush Soccer Club Academy and treasurer of Gambia Football Association, Kemo Ceesay, said the Academy, previously known as Gilkock, started operations some years ago, adding that nine players from the Gambia Rush Soccer Club Academy were featured for the U-17 team in Algeria in 2009.

Ceesay added that the Academy has also succeeded in producing a good number of talented players who have since graduated from the youth system to Steve Biko FC, other divisional teams and the U-20 team in particular.