By: Pa Barrow
Some Scorpions fans have raised concerns about the Gambia Football Federation’s decision to choose Morocco over neighboring country Senegal for the Senior National team’s final, crucial qualifier match against DR Congo in September for a place in AFCON 2023 edition in the Ivory Coast.
Following the declaration from CAF to the Ministry of Youth and Sports that the Independence Stadium is unqualified to host the Scorpion’s upcoming match against DR Congo in September 2023 for not meeting the criteria to host home matches of both CAF and FIFA respectively, the Federation decided to choose Morocco for their home match instead of Senegal for ‘technical reasons.’ This decision could have gone better with most home and abroad fans.
Modou Lamin Ceesay, a keen follower of Gambian football and a supporter of the Scorpions, called on the Federation to reconsider their decision to play the match in Senegal instead of Morocco.
“This is one of the most important matches for us as a nation, if not the most important one. Because we have to consider our opponents who are also in need of results like us, Senegal will be more advantageous because it will attract many supporters as most Gambians will have easy access to go to Senegal and support the boys rather than going all the way to Morocco for financial constrains reasons. The support will give our players extra energy and ensure we have the advantage; hence it is our home match, and we have to decide the venture,” Ceesay told Alkamba Times.
Another fan, Nuha Fatty, called on the Gambia government through the National Sports Council (NSC) and Gambia Football Federation (GFF) to work hand in glove to build a new standard modern stadium so we can play our home matches at home rather than go to Senegal or Morocco.
“There is so much we can do to avoid this national embarrassment in the future. How can you spend beyond one hundred million dalasi on renovation work and still need to meet the criteria set by CAF? This is a big shame for us as a nation. It is better to go in for a new stadium.”
The Gambia will host DR Congo in Morocco for their September final match of AFCON 2024 qualifiers.
