Performance of the Scorpions

The performance of the Scorpions, our national football team, in Wednesday’s match with Algeria is being lamented, after a poor start in the preliminary round qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations 2013.

The fans turned out in their large numbers to fill the around 25,000 capacity national stadium, thanks in part to the opportunity given in the form of a presidential directive for workers to close early yesterday, ahead of the match.

Yet the boys failed to live up to expectations!

The Algerians, meanwhile, made the best use their trip to Banjul, capitalizing on all their chances to humiliate the host team.

A few things, we think, might have contributed to the poor results of the Scorpions.

It seems the team was not well prepared for yesterday’s game.

To keep our national teams in good shape, in all sports, we must be prepared and able to spend the required resources.

The game of football nowadays requires a lot of investment, be it from the government or the private sector.

We must also be prepared to always go back to the drawing board to critically look into the problems affecting the development of sports, particularly football in the country.

With this latest development, Gambian football despite significant gains over recent years has, once again, suffered another setback.

The nation’s ranking in world football is definitely going to be affected negatively.

Thus calls being heard for more effective preparation on our side, if we are to achieve what we want in the popular game, at the international stage.

One such initiative could be for the Sports ministry to summon a national sports conference.

Such a conference would seek to iron out the problems affecting the development of sports and football, in particular, in The Gambia.

For instance, it is our view that we should be encouraging more home-based players in the national football team.

Also, facilitating more friendly matches for our teams would prepare them well, and give them more fitness.