The fans and media were both present at the country’s biggest football arena to watch the Scorpions live but the players failed to turn up for their final training session before travelling to Ivory Coast for the continent’s bi-annual biggest football showpiece.
Captain Omar Colley was speaking to journalists yesterday, Wednesday 10th January 2024 at the Banjul International Airport before they travel to Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, ahead of their crunch Group C opener against Senegal Monday on 15th January 2024.
‘‘We had discussion with the representative of the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Saudi Arabia, we told him about our match bonuses and he assured us that he would talk to Ministry of Youth and Sports.
‘‘We have assurance from the team manager that the money is already been deposited at the GFF account,’’ Captain Omar Colley said.
Colley stated that they have an agreement with the GFF for their qualifying match bonuses to be paid before they come to The Gambia.
He further stated that the GFF assured them that their bonuses would be paid before coming to the country from their international training camp in Saudi Arabia.
He revealed that the GFF has assured them that their monies would be disbursed to them yesterday or today.
‘‘We met the vice president on Tuesday 9th January 2024 to received battle flag and everything went smoothly but afterwards, we did not hear any news about our bonuses.
‘‘We went back to the hotel, we had a brief meeting; hence noting has been said about our bonuses, so we decided not to turn up for our final training session at the Independence Stadium,’’ Captain Omar Colley explained.
