Coach Tom Saintfiet made the remarks after the latest FIFA Rankings show The Gambia moved six places up on Thursday 6th April 2023.
“This will help with the future of Gambian football [because] how better our FIFA Ranking is, [that’s] how better our opponents will be in draws. Probably we’ll not have to play any more pre-qualification so I’m proud of the performance of the players, the whole staff and also the Federation. It is teamwork and it’ll help Gambian football,” said the Gambia’s coach.
The Scorpions were ranked 126 in the last edition but moved to 120. This came after the last AFCON qualifiers where the Scorpions lost and defeated Mali over two legs.
The latest move is another significant step taken by Tom Saintfiet’s charges who have been on a steady upward trajectory over the last five years.
The Gambia was ranked 172 five years, meaning it has moved up 52 places during that period.
The Belgian-Gambian coach Saintfiet expressed his pride in the steady progress and credited team work as the reason for such an achievement.
