The Gambia Football Federation Senior Management team (GFFSMT) yesterday held a press briefing at the GFF Secretariat in Kanifing Layout.
The press briefing was organised to discuss the GFF Senior Management team’s current concluded tour to all the regions in the country to evaluate the regional football associations.
Speaking at the press briefing, GFF Secretary General Abass Bah said the GFFSMT was established in January 2014 and they had a meeting with football clubs as well as the national associations before embarking on tour to the four regions, namely North Bank Region, Lower Region, Central River Region and the Upper River Region, to access football in these regions, strengths and constraints.
GFF Technical Director Ebrima Manneh said the senior management has visited the four administrative regions, namely URR, NBR, LRR and URR, to evaluate the regional football associations, adding that West Coast Region and Banjul have secretariats but the other regions are yet have secretariats and also need capacity building and support to improve football in their regions.
Manneh expressed GFF’s readiness to support grassroots football in the country, adding that they want to organize football festival and junior leagues where they will scout good players and train them at the School of Excellence.
GFF treasurer Kemo Cessay said the GFF has urged all the regions in the country to draw their budget and send it to GFF, saying the GFF has given D50,000 to all the regions to start their administrative works and the regional leagues are set to commence in the first or second week of March 2014.
Cessay stated that the GFF has urged all the regions to open bank accounts, noting that all regional associations need to have their own secretariats for their administrative work.
Adama Mbye, a member of the Gambia Referee Association, said that about twenty percent of referees in the regions cannot read and write, saying that makes it very difficult to train referees in the regions.
Mbye lamented that 33 referees registered in Upper River Region, 12 in Central River Region, 15 in Lower River Region and 12 in North Bank Region, saying they are now going to train referees who can read and write.
For his part, Mamadou Demba, a member of Gambia Football Federation Women Football Association, said he had advised them to start the regional third division leagues with six teams to play each other till it is increased to 8 teams in 2015 where the winner of the league will gain promotion to the second division.
