‘His education is my priority’ – Scorpions Goalie Toldo Speaks on Son’s Football Dreams

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Amat Jobe

By: Foday Manneh

A video and images showing Gambia’s senior Scorpions and long-serving goalkeeper Modou Jobe training his son Amat Jobe, who aspires to become a goalkeeper like his Dad, soon have gone viral, many expressing admiration for the fatherly show of support.

In the world of football, many enjoy seeing such instances when a footballing father and son bond and share a moment of training or play on the same pitch. An example is Zlatan Ibrahimovic linking up with his 16-year-old son in AC Milan training a few weeks ago.


Another one is Cristiano Ronaldo Junior, son of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who is always seen with his father working hard to fill the void to be left by the man regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

However, in Modou Jobe’s alias “Toldo,” things could be different; despite his son Ahmat Jobe’s aspiration to follow in his footsteps, the Gambian goalie believes supporting the young Ahmat in his education remains his main priority.

“As much as I want him to be a professional player, the objective is for him to go to school and learn right now. So I don’t want to compromise his education,” Toldo told TAT.

However, the Gambia’s number one goaltender is ready to support his son in becoming a footballer but says the risk involved cannot be underestimated.

“I will support him to my best. So many people indeed want to become footballers now, and they will sacrifice their schooling for football, and in the end, it does not work for them. They will lose all.”


“I want him to focus on his education, and that’s my objective. Of course, he wants to play football and follow in my footsteps, and I will still support him. But, I want him to learn first because education is the number one,” Jobe added.

Modou Jobe, who now plays for Black Leopard in South African National First Division, has a storied career from his early days with Real de Banjul Football Club in the Gambia to Niarry Tally and ASC Linguere both in Senegal, Kanemi Warriors in Nigeria, Jeddah FC in Saudi Arabia, returned to Senegal with Niambour, then to his current employers.

Toldo represented the Gambia 29 times since making his debut in 2007. He was one of three goalkeepers that helped his country to their maiden AFCON qualification and subsequent appearance in the continent’s biggest football competition.

The young Toldo, Amat, dreams of achieving more than his father in the game. The 13-year-old trains with his local team in Brusubi, consisting mainly of mates from his school football team. But again, his education remains the main objective for senior Toldo.

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