By Aja Beyai
The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) has finally broken its silence on the controversy surrounding the cancellation of the proposed international friendly between The Gambia and Bolivia.
This comes after the Bolivia Football Federation (FBF) earlier issued a public statement on the cancellation and threatened to impose economic and sporting sanctions on the GFF.
In a detailed Official Announcement issued today, October 5, 2026, the GFF moved to set the record straight, insisting the decision to pull out was necessary to protect its players and to safeguard the team’s competitive integrity.
The GFF clarified that the match was never a direct Federation-to-Federation arrangement, but was negotiated through a match agent. Under the agreement, Bolivia as the host nation explicitly assumed responsibility for return flight tickets, accommodation, local transport, stadium and training facilities, with a clause requiring both parties to coordinate travel.
The Federation accused the FBF of acting unilaterally:
“Regrettably, the FBF acted unilaterally and booked flights without prior consultation or coordination.”
The GFF listed three critical failures that forced its withdrawal:
1. Inappropriate Routing: The Gambia delegation was booked on flights from Accra to Buenos Aires, Argentina, despite the match being scheduled in Santa Cruz, Bolivia – nearly 1,900km (1,250 miles) away. No provision was made for the onward journey from Buenos Aires to Santa Cruz and back.
2. Incomplete Return Travel: Return tickets were booked only to Accra, Ghana, leaving players and staff stranded without onward transportation to their clubs and final destinations, in violation of FIFA regulations on player return timelines.
3. Incomplete FIFA Compliance: Both federations never signed the required Tier 1 match forms governing international friendlies, meaning FIFA never granted mandatory approval for the match.
According to the GFF, the logistical flaws were compounded by concerns raised by the players themselves over the grueling physical toll of such a travel schedule, coming immediately after two strenuous competitive fixtures against Somalia and Ghana.
The GFF says it officially notified the match agent of its withdrawal on Monday, 28th September. The response on 1st October was a set of one-way air tickets to Accra – which the GFF described as “logistically impossible to utilise.”
The Federation maintained that its primary duty is to the welfare, health and psychological well-being of its national team players, stating that the uncertainty surrounding the trip had become an “unacceptable distraction” ahead of the crucial competitive fixture against Ghana.
“Faced with these persistent failures to align with our contract and the imperative to protect our team’s integrity, the GFF made the prudent and necessary decision to prioritise our competitive commitments and safeguard our squad,” the statement concluded.
