GFF to take ‘necessary action’ against Scorpions appalling performance

In a statement sent to The Point newspaper yesterday, GFF said the action will be taken in the shortest possible time.

It said the action will be taken to ensure that the plan of rebuilding the national teams to excel on the international stage is achieved.

Below we reproduce the full text of the statement:

The Gambia Football Federation would like to acknowledge, and share with the general public, the Scorpions’ exit from the preliminary stages of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, following a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Namibia, champions of the Southern African Football Union.

The GFF, under the leadership of Lamin Kaba Bajo, would also like to acknowledge the unqualified support of its partners, mainly the government of The Gambia, under the dynamic leadership of His Excellency the President, Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya AJJ Jammeh, Babili Mansa, the Multimedia Gateway International (MGI) and the entire football fraternity.

The GFF further wants to acknowledge and appreciate the personal contribution of the President of the Republic of The Gambia for the holistic development of football in the country.

After a two-year absence from international football, the GFF has set itself the target of rebuilding our national teams, an important process which requires considerable time, patience, perseverance and proper planning.

The team got off to a promising start in that process with a merited goalless draw in South Africa, which followed a 1-1 friendly draw in Uganda as well as the gallant performance in last month’s 1-0 defeat at home to Cameroon in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers.

These performances could have led to the rise in expectations of the Gambian fans, but it was clear, in the Federation’s point of view, from the beginning that it shall take some time to be on the same level with countries that have been playing together for several years.

The Gambia Football Federation would like to assure all and sundry that when the head coach and his staff returns home this week, the GFF shall meet with him and make a detailed review of the situation, after which necessary action and measures will be taken in the shortest possible time in consultation with the stakeholders, to ensure that the plan of rebuilding our national teams to enable them to once again excel on the international stage is achieved.