Nigeria, Gambia To Partner On Sports Dev

The Gambia is desirous of gaining from Nigerian sports in areas of personnel development, infrastructure, technical assistance and grass-roots development, the country’s Youth and Sports Minister Alieu Jammeh has said.

Jammeh, who stated this during a visit to the Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, yesterday in Abuja, said his country was seeking Nigeria’s assistance to enhance its sports development.

“We have always known that you have so much that we can gain from, and we hope to strengthen our relationship by securing your assistance to develop in various areas of sports, such as football, basketball and volleyball,” he said.

The minister, accompanied by the country’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mrs Angela Iheme, and two other officials, said the Gambia had only minimal success and development in football to boast about.

“Over the years, we have only been able to do something in football to the detriment of other sports. Even then, things have dropped for us in football and we realised that certain things are not going on fine.

“We also realised that we can’t do it by ourselves, as we are a small country of limited resources and our government has other commitments,” he said.

Jammeh listed as critical, the training of coaches and administrators, as well as the grass-roots development of sports through schools to sustain and improve on what is available.

He said sports infrastructure was another area in which the Gambia would be looking for help, saying the country had only one national stadium which was built about 30 years ago.

“Our infrastructure is also a big issue, as we have only one national stadium. I was very much impressed with your Abuja National Stadium when I came in here yesterday.

“We have a problem of even maintaining the one we have in spite of the fact that we have big ideas of hosting big competitions like the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

“But we do know you can’t do that without infrastructure, and that is why we will be needing technical assistance and structures from you,” the minister said.

He, however, congratulated Nigeria on its AFCON 2013 victory, saying his country’s President, Yahya Jammeh, was very much elated over Nigeria’s success.

The minister also said the victory excited him much more with the fact that it was achieved by a team led by an indigenous coach.

“We in the Gambia, and me especially, were happy that it was achieved through a local coach and it tells much about what Africans can do if given the chance,” he said.

Responding, Abdullahi praised the minister’s commitment and desire, pointing out that it all started during their meeting at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

“This is a demonstration of your commitment to your assignment as minister, as you have indicated interest in this partnership since our meeting in London, and I am therefore not surprised that you are now here,” he said.

Abdullahi, who is also Chairman of the National Sports Commission, gave the assurance that Nigeria would share its experiences and resources with the Gambia.

“Our victory in South Africa was a West African thing as seven of the eight quarter-finalists were from West Africa and four of them were in the semi-finals.

“It does show that West Africa is a powerhouse in African football, but we don’t want it to be about football alone but sports as a whole.

“This must be so because the 2012 London Games was a sad commentary on our sports as no West African country won a gold medal, and to correct that, we must share our experiences and resources to develop,’’ he said.

The minister said West African countries needed to take more interest in the ECOWAS Games, saying the third edition scheduled for Cote D’Ivoire in 2014 should be better than others before it.

“It will be a great opportunity for us to further develop. Only few countries were there in 2012 at the second edition in Ghana, but we should know it provides us a great opportunity to share.

“After the London Games, a lot of questions came up, and for us in Nigeria it was a very difficult moment. It however presented us with an opportunity to reflect and plan for a better future.

“Our President was very much involved in our Presidential Sports Retreat and from there we have put in place a lot of reforms which have been yielding fruits.

“So, we will be happy to share with the Gambia what we have, and we also know that we can learn from you too because we all know there are differences in our contexts,” he said.

The Gambian minister had on his entourage, the country’s Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, retired Brig.-Gen. Ebrima Bah, and the Youth and Sports Ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary, Malong Jassy.