Gambia arrest, detain football federation leaders

GFF President Mustapha Kebbeh (Photo Credit: Sang Mendy)

The police in Banjul have arrested and detained members of The Gambia Football Federation, GFF, on Friday.
 
“They are being held at the major crime unit division of the police department, in the capital,” GFF sources said. “The President Mustapha Kebbeh, Vice President Buba ‘Star’ Janneh, Secretary General Abass Bah are among executive committee members who were arrested over the weekend.”

It is not yet clear why the crackdown on the football officials. It came about 72 hours after Youth and Sports Minister Alieu K. Jammeh announced the sacking of the GFF president and four of his top executive and suspends all national football leagues.

Jammeh said he was acting on the findings of a task force set up by the national sports council, NSC, to look into the country’s expulsion from the CAF youth championship. 

NSC calls for sacking of three GFF officials, ask others to resign

A government task force that looked into The Gambia’s age cheating and expulsion from the CAF U20 championship has called for the resignation of entire football Federation executive committee  (Photo Credit: Sang Mendy)

The National Sports Council, NSC, has called for the sacking of the Gambia Football Federation, GFF’s, technical director Ebrima Manneh, U20 team manger Saihou Bah and administrative secretary Baboucarr Jobe.

An NSC task force that looked into The Gambia’s age-cheating and expulsion from the CAF U20 championship recommended their sacking.

The task force also recommended that the [entire] GFF executive [committee should] honourably resign for “failing and embarrassing the nation and losing public trust.”

Gambia Football Federation to Protest CAF Championship Expulsion

By Omar Bah

A spokesperson of The Gambia Football Federation, GFF, has said on Monday they will protest against a decision by the Confederation of African Football to disqualify The Gambia from the U-20 Championship for fielding ineligible players. 

CAF’s decision on April 21 came after Liberia’s FA protest over Gambia’s used of over-aged players during the first leg of the qualifiers in Monrovia which Gambia won 1-0.    

“The GFF is innocent and we were acting on the rules and regulations that were presented to us. The players that we selected were under-20 and they are eligible to play the qualifiers,” argued FA spokesman Buba Star Janneh.

GFF invite police to probe expulsion over age-cheating

GFF President Mustapha Kebbeh (Photo Credit: Sang Mendy)

The Gambia Football Federation, GFF, Wednesday announced it will invite the police to investigate the age-cheating saga that led to the country’s expulsion from the U20 qualifiers last week.

 

Following an appeal by Liberia over Gambia’s use of ineligible players during the first leg of the qualifiers in Monrovia which Gambia won 1-0, the continent’s football governing body, CAF, announced it has expelled The Gambia. 

"Indeed, Sampere Mendy, Buba Sanneh, Bubacarr Trawally, Saloum Faal and Ali Sowe were all born in 1994 and are not qualified to participate…,” a CAF organizing committee agreed on April 21.

Sports Council to Investigate 'Incompetent' Gambia Football Federation

The Gambia is disqualified for age cheating.  Photo taken from Afrikan Soccer shows a 2007 Gambian U-20 team

 The National Sports Council (NSC) has on Monday announced a task-force to investigate The Gambia's disqualification from the U-20 Championship for using overage players.

It has said it will accordingly "take appropriate action" but it is not clear what that means.

The wait is killing me. Is it killing you too?

Two seasoned sports administrators have said they are convinced The Gambia have not flouted any rule.

Gambians continue to wait anxiously for CAF to decide on the allegations leveled against The Gambia U-20. It has been 10 days since Liberia appealed against The Gambia for alleged use of five over age players, writes journalist Sang Mendy on Facebook. 

Since then, there have been conflicting reports about player eligibility. The Liberians claimed that only players born January 1, 1995 are eligible to play in the qualifiers. 

On the contrary, authorities at the Gambia Football Federation (GFF) state that players born in 1994 are eligible to play in the qualifiers until they turn 20. 

Gambia pushed to CAF preliminary after dismal performance

Gambia end 2013 with an insignificant leap for the Scorpions in December’s FIFA Coca-Cola World Rankings – moving three places up, to 131 in the world and one place up, to 39 in Africa (Photo Credit: M.S.Joof/TNBES/June 2013)

Gambia U20 to play West African rivals Liberia for Senegal championship

Both the U-17 Baby Scorpions and the U-20 Darling Scorpions (pic) were deprived of participation in international competition in 2012/2013 over lack of money (Photo taken from Afrikan Soccer)

Biko to play Algeria’s Es Setif in champions’ league

Gamcel faces Armed Forces in Confed Cup

New comers Steve Biko faces tough test in African Champions League (Photo Credit: KickOff Gambia)

The Gambia’s FA unsure of date to correct ‘erroneous constitution’

Deutsch: Fußballstadion, Bakau (elf Kilometer von Banjul entfernt) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ethiopia produces AFCON 2013 shock, held defending champions Zambia

Antelopes striker Adane celebrates equaliser (Photo Credit: BBC)

Mali start-off with win over Niger

Mali's midfielder Seydou Keita celebrates after scoring a goal against Niger during the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations football match at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on January 20, 2013. AFP PHOTO / STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN

A DAY OF STALEMATES

Like S/Africa and Cape Verde Islands, Angola and Morocco too fail to produce goals in AFCON 2013 opening day

Angola's forward Geraldo (R) vies with Morocco's midfielder Nordin Amrabat during the Morocco vs Angola CAN2013 football match at Soccer City in Soweto on January 19, 2013. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE

Former Senegal international Jules-Francois Bocande died on Monday

                                 

                                                         Senegal's Jules-Francois Bocande 

Former Senegal international Jules-Francois Bocande died at the age of 54 on Monday in the French city of Metz where he played two seasons between 1984 and 1986.

Rashidi Yekini: BIOGRAPHY

Yekini celebrates famous goal against Bulgaria in 1994 World Cup

Rashidi Yekini (23 October 1963 – 4 May 2012) was a Nigerian footballer who played as a striker.

His professional career, which spanned more than two decades, was mainly associated with Vitória de Setúbal in Portugal, but he also played in six other countries his own notwithstanding.^[1]

Yekini scored nearly 40 goals as a Nigerian international, and represented the nation in five major tournaments, including two World Cups, where he scored the country's first-ever goal in the competition. He was also named the African Footballer of the Year once.^[2][

Attack not promised in Tunis but 100% hopeful: Coach Kuyateh

Brikama United FC

Brikama United coach Sulayman Kuyateh says he does “not promise” to go on the offensive against African champions Esperance in the second leg in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.

The Gambian league champions held their north Africa opponents in a 1-1 draw at home on March 24, 2012 at the Box Bar mini stadium in Brikama, the capital of the West Coast Region.

Coach Decastel: Draw not bad for Esperance

Shared honour not bad: Esperance coach Michel Decastel

The coach of African champions Esperance, Michel Decastel, admits “draw against Brikama United not bad” as he led his team in their first game of the 2012 second round of the CAF Champions League. 

“We came here to win, one-one is not a bad game but we are not happy with the results,” Decastel told local journalists, adding: “I am hopeful that we will win the next game in Tunis.

African champions Zambia on the rise

Zambia's players celebrate together after a meaningful victory over the Ivory Coast  [Reuters]

African Press Organization (APO) — The Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, which drew to a close last Sunday, has clearly left its mark on the current edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, as Zambia, the newly crowned African champions, secured their first-ever title and have thus climbed to 43rd position. 

A fairytale ending for champions Zambia

Zambia upset favourites Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations final to secure a poignant win on a memorable night.

Zambia's players celebrate together after a meaningful victory over the Ivory Coast  [Reuters]

The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations got a fairytale ending on Sunday as Zambia were crowned champions after defeating the Ivory Coast on penalties in a dramatic and thrilling contest.

Herve Renard's team were playing for more than just their first title but also in the memory of 18 players killed in a plane crash in 1993. The plane had been taking the national team to a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Senegal.

Fifa steer clear of Zengue's Burkina Faso eligibility

Herve Zengue is at the centre of a row over his eligibility to play for Burkina Faso

(BBC) Fifa has said it will not get involved in the case surrounding Herve Zengue's eligibility to play for Burkina Faso. Football's world governing body insisted that it was up to national associations to police themselves when using foreign-born players to make sure that they complied with regulations.
Namibia are appealing against a ruling by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) over the loss of a protest against Burkina Faso's use of Cameroon-born defender Herve Zengue.