The funding from the Gambia Olympic Committee includes air tickets, accommodation, feeding and allowances for the four players and the coach as well as ticket and accommodation for the accompanying referee from Tunisia.
The qualifying tournament is scheduled to take place from 12 to 18 April 2016 in Abuja, Nigeria.
Twelve teams vying for the single ticket for Rio 2016 Games are divided into four groups of three teams.
The Gambia are paired with Ghana and Burkina Faso in the group stages.
The Gambian delegation left Banjul International Airport on Sunday 10 April for Abuja.
In his farewell statement to the delegation, the President of GNOC, Alhagie Momodou Dibba, called on the players to be focused while in Abuja as their “success in the tournament is our success as a nation”.
“Stay together as a team, consult each other and communicate at any given time as everybody wants to see you in Rio games,” he told the players.
For his part, the newly elected first Vice President of Gambia Volleyball Federation, Bai Dodou Jallow, said “this is the first time for the Gambia as a nation” to reach this level in the Olympic qualifiers thanks to GNOC for funding the team from training to the competition in Abuja.
“Since we started our training programmes after we returned from Abidjan, GNOC has been providing transport fares for the players to and from the training ground at Palma Rima Beach,” Mr Jallow pointed out. “Lots of efforts have been put together to make sure the team is set to face any challenge during the competition.”
He urged the players to seize “this great opportunity” by qualifying for Rio 2016 Games as well as writing another history in Gambian sport.
The following is a list of the delegation to Abuja: Players: Sainabou Tambedou (Gamtel/Gamcel), Amie Gaye (Interior), Fatoumatta Ceesay (Interior) and Abie Kujabie (GAF), Coach: Ebrima Nyass.
