Emotions are bubbling in the sports fraternity as the country’s leading
football body gears up for the election of its executive members, which falls
on Saturday 20 Sept 2014.
Three proponents of good sporting have thrown their hats into the ring for the battle of the Presidency of the Gambia Football Federation (GFF).
And as we prepare for the 20th September 2014, Abdoulie Kah, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, has also thrown in a word of caution to delegates who will be entitled to vote in the election of the GFF executive bureau.
“Entrust capable people our football to avoid normalization again,” DPS Kah told this paper, calling on stakeholders to usher in a GFF executive bureau whose members are capable of running Gambian football “to avoid being faced with Normalisation again”.
Maladministration and management flaws are some of the deficiencies that have crippled the national football governing body over the recent past.
Considering what obtains in the sports politics of our country, we cannot but agree with DPS Kah.Over the past three years or so, sports, especially football, has suffered a severe dent owing to favoritism, cabalism, lack of transparency and other managerial vices.
Sports bodies have also faced putting a square peg in a round hole, which has caused a lot of problems for sports in The Gambia.
The GFF has been dissolved twice within a period of three to four years, all because of ill management, infighting, and lack of transparency in the ranks of sports executives in the country.
The GFA, now the GFF, was dissolved in 2012 due to reported mismanagement of the affairs of football.Early this year, again the GFF was also dissolved due to lack of trust and confidence by a broad section of Gambian sports stakeholders, giving rise to the setting up of another Normalisation Committee, after The Gambia was banned from taking part in international football for filling in overage playersfor the CAF Under-20 Qualifiers against Liberia.
These and other blights in the football bodies of our nation have caused us serious harm over the recent past.
So as we are approaching the day for another opportunity to elect a new executive for the GFF, a word of caution to voters to avoid making the mistake of voting on sentiments and favoritism is all but timely and essential, for us to get the best out of the lot.
It is said when a monkey wears the crown, it is time to leave town!
Good leaders take you from here to a better place. And bad ones plunge you into darkness.
The stage for the September 20 elections will be set at the GRTS tomorrow, when a debate will be held for aspirants for the Presidency of the GFF.
“There is no doubt that the general public – rightly described as “stakeholders” in Gambian football by the NC-GFF – will understand and appreciate good decisions when they see them.”
The Point
