Representatives of sporting associations of The Gambia have renewed their commitment to working closely with the National Sports Council (NSC) to re-establish a much stronger relationship, in the interest of sports development in the country.
The renewed commitment to working with the NSC was made at a meeting held at the Independence Stadium VIP Lounge on Wednesday. The meeting was organised to spur the spirit of unity and equality among sporting disciplines in the country.
It was also held to involve all sporting associations so they could take part in decision-making for the betterment of the development of sport in The Gambia, as it will avail the sports council the opportunity to access funds from government through the NSC, said the acting-executive secretary of the NSC, Abdul Aziz Titao Mendy.
He added: "It is in the interest of the NSC to make sure all the sporting associations are functioning given the fact that it is not in the interest of the sports council to allow other associations to become dormant."
The main highlight of Wednesday's meeting was the setting up of a criteria for all the sporting associations of The Gambia, whose ultimate aim is to put an end to dormancy in the country's sports activity as The Gambia continues in its drive to achieving sports excellence through mass participation.
However the NSC are fully aware of the fact that this can only be achieved if all hands are on deck to ensure The Gambia reaches the highest sporting standard.
This initiative, according to Titao, is part of his office's effort to bringing equality and understanding among all the sporting associations in the country to work towards achieving the desired result in sports.
He called on the national sporting associations that are not taking part in local competition to start competing locally before thinking about international competition, noting that government would only consider supporting developmental programmes and not non-developmental ones.
The other issue discussed during the three-hour meeting is the NSC’s website, which is set to be launched soon.
