By: Lamin Drammeh
Gambian international footballer Ebrima Sohna has officially announced his retirement from international football after a glittering 16-year career marked by some spectacular highs.
The 34-year-old midfielder made the announcement of his retirement on his official Facebook page today, Friday February 11, 2022. However, Soha has committed himself to helping in the development of Gambian football in a different capacity, in addition to his philanthropic work in which he provides humanitarian assistance to the underprivileged in his native Gambia.
He wrote, “Today, I officially announce my retirement from the National Team to pave way for the younger generation to succeed. I have great desire and impassioned inclination to serve in a different capacity to add value and to further develop Gambian Football.”
News of the former Gambia National U-17 & U-20 midfielder’s retirement came weeks after he played a significant part in his nation’s first ever appearance at the African cup of nations finals in Cameroon. Sohna along with the rest of the scorpions teammates are riding high in continental football….. when they shockingly eliminated Guniea 1-0 in the round of 16 to seal Gambia’s qualification to the last eight – marking the country’s first ever Afcon debut. The Gambia finished the tournament ranked – amongst the sixth best teams of the competition following wins over Mauritania, Tunisia, Guniea and a hard fought 1-1 draw with heavyweight Mali.
The midfield maestro was handed his first start at the Afcon tournament as the scorpions beat Guinea 1-0 to seal a place in the quarterfinal in historic fashion. Musa Barrow’s 71st minute winner was all The Gambia needed to make history at Limbe Stadium. The spirited Gambain team earned worldwide recognition for its demonstration of talents and collective teamwork throughout the tournament.
The hard-tackling midfielder Sohna has been an important part of his nation’s success from the youth level to the senior team. His first big splash came in 2005 when The Gambia National U-17 team hosted and won the caf African U-17 tournament in May of that year. And the team subsequently qualified for the FIFA World Cup in Peru as part of the best three teams that meets qualification standards by FIFA to participate at the FIFA World Cup. As the Gambia made its FIFA World Cup debut as African champions, Sohna became an integral member of that U-17 team that caused one of the biggest upsets in FIFA U-17 World Cup history after defeating the mighty Brazil 3 – 1.
Sohna’s incredible career took him to a host of domestic and professional football clubs around the world. But last year, he made a surprise move when he announced that he was signing for local club Fortune FC in The Gambia Football Federation’s domestic league, a move which was seen as a clear sign that the former Gambian youth international football star was nearing an end to his playing days.
