Musa Manneh withdraws from GAA Presidential Race

Barely a week after declaring his intention to contest for the forthcoming presidential election of the Gambia Athletics Association, Musa P. Manneh, who works with the KMC as a sports manager, has withdrawn his candidature with immediate effect, news reaching Pointsports desk can confirm.

The 37-year-old promising sports icon last weekend voiced out his desire to fill the GAA presidential top post which has been empty following the retirement of former president Evans, who is understood to have been resident in the US.

Having strongly outlined his ambition to transform the GAA into a more vibrant association for the interest of all Gambians when elected the president of the GAA, the 37-year-old sports man has surprisingly withdrawn from contesting the post citing the following reasons for his withdrawal.

“Going back to the declaration I made to contest for the presidency of the Gambia Athletic Association (GAA), I hereby announce that I am withdrawing my candidacy decorously and refraining myself from its ramifications.

“I have realised that the present Executive under the competent leadership of the Secretary General and Treasurer of the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA), Alh Dodou J. Joof ORG and co, are the most effective and effectual persons to the smooth running of the GAA, based on the current realities on the ground.

“I have come to realize that the Secretary General, Joof, has single handedly and manfully striven to bring big and beneficial development projects such as the overhauling of the independence Stadium running tracks to a modern one which is expected to be done by international experts.

“The present Executive has concrete and tenable plan of actions for the coming years to generally modernize and decentralize the entire Association as well as to placing the athletes at par with great African countries the whole world is talking about.

“The Association under the auspices of the current leadership has outlined plans that are more tenable than the ones I have outlined.

“Finally I would urge all and sundry to rally behind the Executive, especially Alh Dodou Capi Joof, whose desire is to expose the Gambian Athletics (sports) to the highest international standard and to put The Gambia on the world map of sport.

“My sincere apologies go to Capi, the entire Executive Members and all those who might feel offended along the way and pray that the Almighty Allah crowns all the efforts of the Association and the Committee members to success.  

Delegates are expected to go to the polls later this month to elect the next president of the GAA, a position which has been vacant following the retirement of the former president, Mr Evans, who is now resident in the US.