In a letter addressed to GNOC President, Jallow said: “I have decided not to present myself as a candidate at the next elective congress for any position. This decision has been taken knowing very well that I have met all the eligibility criteria to stand for reelection. However given my love and passion for sports, I will still continue to contribute to the development of sports in the Gambia.”
SG Jallow joined GNOC Management over past nine years, initially as 2nd vice president and eventually become Secretary General and registered various milestones and achievements during the period.
Jallow and team also registered a string of successes in the country’s sporting history and he thanked all sports stakeholders for the opportunity.
He pointed out that sports has been part of his DNA all throughout his life with his relationship with sports morphed into different phases from early education, to college and most recently into sports management.
“At every stage whilst the experience has been different, it has always been gratifying. Reflecting on the various milestones and achievements, I am tempted to generate a thesis on a story that could go down very well on the sporting history of our country but will keep it focused on what I think will make us all feel very proud of our achievements as a team,” he stated.
Some of the accolades registered during his time particularly over the last five years including but not limited to the following:
Islamic Games: The first time in the history of the country’s sports, The Gambia achieved Gold and Silver Medals. These were in the 100M and 200M races. Other athletes also showed significant improvement on their personal best and overall rankings.
Commonwealth Games: Our athletes also reached the l00M and 200M finals, setting another country record in the Games.
African Youth Games: One of the Games that the Gambia presented both Individual and Team Sports. The Gambia won Gold in the 200M (Olympic Youth Games qualification), Bronze Medal in the l00M (Olympic Youth Games qualification) and Bronze Medal for the Beach volleyball team (Olympic Youth Games qualification). We also had other athletes and teams that missed out on qualification to the Youth Games.
3rd Summer Youth Olympic Games: In the history of Olympic Games, The Gambia for the first time presented a Team Sports and took part in athletics, swimming. and beach volleyball.
African Games: The Gambia took one of the biggest athlete delegations (21) in the sports of athletics, swimming, beach volleyball, 3X3 basketball and judo. The Gambia won its first continental team sports Gold medal in Male Beach Volleyball, Silver and Gold medal in the l00M and 200M respectively.
ANOC World Beach Games: Our Female Beach Volleyball Team represented Africa in the inaugural ANOC World Beach Games held in Qatar. Their performance was impressive and were ranked 5th in the 4X4 world beach volleyball.
World Athletic Championships: Given the overall improvement in female athletics, the Gambia’s flag was raised at these Games in the l00M finals.
Olympic Games: We presented more sports for qualification to the Tokyo Games including Athletics, Judo, Swimming, Boxing and Beach Volleyball (Male & Female teams) than any other Olympics. Our athletes broke national records in addition to Gina Bass reaching the semi-finals of both the l00M and 200M and being the first female athlete to reach such a milestone.
During the period Jallow and team also supported and funded five of the country’s stakeholders to pursue masters level sports related programs and one of their staff to pursue a Bachelors Programme in Professional Accounting at the University of The Gambia. They also trained two coaches at international level, 19 football coaches for A Level One and 4 to regional and district Sports Administrators.
