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Ministerial Taskforce Committee presents final report

Jan 12, 2012, 2:27 PM | Article By: Lamin Drammeh

Alieu K. Jammeh, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MOYS), has received a taskforce committee report on behalf of Sheriff Gomez, Minister of MOYS.

The Football Taskforce Committee set up by Hon. Sheriff Gomez to look into the factors obstructing the performances of The Gambia’s national football teams, yesterday presented their final report to the sports ministry in Banjul.

The taskforce, Pointsports gathered, was set up purely to provide surgical analysis and make recommendations on the poor performances of the national football teams to map out ways and means of putting an end to the dismal showing of the national teams.

Sheriff Gomez, it would be recalled, sometime in 2011 brought up the idea of establishing a football taskforce committee comprising well known sports personalities, with the ultimate objective of finding solutions to the problems that continue to delay the development of the national football teams of The Gambia.

The committee under the guidance of Sheikh Omar Sallah six months ago began an intensive 6-month process of critically analysing and making recommendations on football development and management in the country to make suggestions for the way forward.

“The Ministry of Youth and Sports as an apex body responsible for sports affairs in the country under the leadership of Sheriff Gomez, was concerned by the performance of the national teams and therefore asked for experts to provide answers for the poor performance of the teams to pave the way forward,” says Mr Jammeh, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, who deputised the minister at the presentation ceremony.

The taskforce committee, who were given a timeline of six months to complete their assignments, according to Jammeh, instituted competent people with lots of experience in sports, particularly football, to carry out the task.

 The committee has delivered a tangible recommendation in their final report, he said, using the occasion to lash praises on its members for their “efforts and sacrifices to do a fantastic job despite enduring some constraints that could have been avoided along the way”.

Sheikh Omar Sallah, chairman of the taskforce committee, who presented the book containing the report to the permanent secretary for onward transmission to the sports minister, said: “I wish to start my speech by giving thanks to the Almighty Allah for guiding the taskforce committee through this period and for giving us the strength to do our work collectively with strength, determination, commitment and sacrifice. The ministerial taskforce was inaugurated on 2nd August 2011.”

The committee was mandated to thoroughly look into the management of the national teams ranging from the U-17 to U-20 and the senior national football team, to provide roles and responsibilities that should exist between the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the National Sports Council, the Gambia Football Association and the Gambia for Gold in particular, to define the way forward for Gambian sports, particularly football.

Other speakers at the report presentation were Sulayman Bun-Njie, chairman of the National Sports Council, who echoed similar sentiments to that of the permanent secretary.

The taskforce committee members were: Sheikh Omar Sallah (chairman), Ebou Faye, Abdou Aziz Titao Mendy, Musa Ceesay, Mrs Arrent Jah, Kabba Ceesay and Mam Biram Donal Sock.