With sports being the most sought-after entity globally, the need for different expertise in guiding and aiding the exploration of sports personnel and institutions is always in demand. Whether at the administration, programs, or technical support, modern sporting institutions rely heavily on experts in different disciplines to effectively and efficiently manage their athletes and players.
With the array of these specialists in different sporting institutions, sports law is not usually popular, even at the global level. Despite the persistent recurrence of legal issues surrounding player contracts, wages, and relationships between players and their clubs, it is usually very difficult for players to have representatives from professionally trained legal backgrounds. In the Gambia, this area has always been a major hindrance to the recent growth of our football and other sporting disciplines.
Momodou Lamin Bah from Torro Ba Village is about to make a remarkable and unprecedented history.
From humble beginnings in a Baddibu village in the North Bank Region, a young Momodou Lamin Bah came from a town without a conventional school.
He started his academic journey at Njawara Lower Basic, in a village about 2 km from his home. The small lower basic school was later transformed into a Basic Cycle School in 2005. After nine years of formative education in that school, he sat on the Gambia Basic Education Certificate Examination in 2009 as a part of the third batch of the newly transformed school. That year, he became one of the few students to score good grades on the national exams. To Momodou, scoring an aggregate that met the requirements for admission to one of the country’s best schools didn’t just come on a silver platter.
“Life as a student in the village was quite a challenging one. As a native of Torro Ba, particularly at my ‘Kabila,’ we were brought up to learn the traits of Quranic memorization and farming. The culture of studying was almost non-existent. We used to wake up an hour before dawn for ‘Daara’ until the daybreak when we would go to school. In the afternoon, we would go to Daara for an hour or two before going to the bush to fetch firewood for our night Daara, which used to be from Maghreb until after Isha’s prayer. This used to be the routine for those going to school in the morning shift. Those in the afternoon shift used to go to the farm in the morning, and the Daara routines continued at night and fajr,” he told Alkamba Times.
Despite the challenges of balancing conventional school, Daara, and working at the farms, Momodou excelled in his classes throughout his time in the village. He would later move to Nusrat as one of the best students from rural areas.
Transitioning to the village was a challenging experience for the young Momodou. As someone who barely had access to quality education in the village, he initially struggled to adapt to the competitive environment at Nusrat Senior Secondary School, as most of his peers who had their early educations in more privileged schools were already way ahead of him in terms of substance. He continued to strive hard and did his best to adjust to the required standards at Nusrat. Amid all the challenges, he was the best government student in his class, a subject for which he never scored anything less than an A grade until his WASSCE. Bah wrote his WASSCE in 2012 and passed with a remarkable performance.
After completing his senior schooling, Momodou was admitted to pursue an A-level law program at the Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI). He graduated in 2015 with a National Diploma in Law. In 2017, he joined the University of the Gambia (UTG) for an undergraduate Law (LLB) degree.
It was at the GTTI and UTG that Momodou’s leadership prowess started to blossom when different student leadership positions.
“During my time at GTTI and the UTG, I actively participated in leadership and extracurricular activities. At GTTI, I was the head coach of the Law Students Association (LSA) football team for my three years of studies.
At UTG, I was part of the LSA football team coaching team. I was elected the LSA sports minister in May 2019, a role I held until December 2020. Among the successes, I have registered included inaugural events such as a volleyball tournament for the LLB classes, both male and female teams, and the LSA Sports Day, the first event in the history of the UTG faculty-based association. In 2020, I was appointed head coach of the LSA football team, a role I held until 2022. In my first year as coach, I led the team to the Vice Chancellor’s Football Tournament semi-finals, where we lost to the eventual champions on penalties. This was the first time we reached the semis over five years after the semis,” he said.
As he is fondly called, ML was a member of the UTG Sports Committee, which, together with the UTG Sports Directorate, formulated the University’s short—and long-term sports policies.
Upon completing his undergraduate degree from the University of the Gambia, the ever-determined ML joined the prestigious Gambia Law School in November 2021. He successfully took the Bar examination in September 2022 and was eventually called to the Gambia Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court.
With this remarkable achievement, the young Barrister set a clear path in an area uncommon in the country, despite many doubts from skeptics. He was admitted to study in the United Kingdom without a fully funded scholarship. To him, this was purely a passion and personal desire.
“My motivation to pursue a career in law, particularly Sports Law, is passion-driven. I have always been passionate about sports and anything related to football. I have always believed that law is the only way to realize my dream of working in the sports industry, particularly football. I pursued an LLM in Sports Law at Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom, on this premise. Sports law is not a course that is very popular in universities around the world; only a few offer it, which makes it difficult to secure a scholarship. I secured a 25% scholarship with the university and self-funded the rest. Amid the financial challenges, I invested every penny to pursue my dream of being a Sports Lawyer.”
As a football enthusiast interested in governance and regulatory affairs, Bah wrote his “Integrity in Football” dissertation, focusing on match-fixing and illegal betting. His supervisor gave him a raving review, and he scored a mid-distinction grade. He is currently working on publishing academic papers in sports law journals.
“I am currently working on setting up a sports law consultancy firm. I already work with Fortune FC as a consultant; I am in contact with notable football agents in the country and a few other Gambian clubs I look forward to working with. I am also in contact with the GFF and look forward to working with all stakeholders in our sports industry, including athletes.” He said.
When asked about how his aspirations align with the future of sports in the country, ML retorted that;
“As a sports lawyer, I believe my expertise could fundamentally impact the lives of our athletes, governing bodies, and clubs. With my sports law qualifications, I have extensive background knowledge of the FIFA and other relevant sports statutes and/or regulations, sports judicial organs/tribunals, the Court of Arbitration for Sports, and dispute resolution mechanisms, including commercial arbitration. I also have a proficient understanding of sports law and policy, competition laws, and the attitudes of both domestic and European courts towards sports litigation. In addition, I have expertise in other areas of sports law, including intellectual property rights, data protection, commercial deals, transfers, sports contracts, personal injury claims, doping laws/regulations, and human rights issues underpinning sports. I have a deep knowledge of sports, intellectual property, and commercial law.
I believe this has equipped me with the right tools to offer services to all sports partners in various areas, including but not limited to advising athletes, agents, and agencies on transfer, regulatory, and employment matters. Advising athletes on image rights, sponsorship, endorsement, and other commercial issues.
Advising athletes, families, and football clubs on issues relating to the international transfer of minor players. Advising and representing governing bodies, athletes, agents, and clubs in dispute resolution before the FA, FIFA, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Advising clubs on training compensation and solidarity contribution for the transfer of athletes under 23 years. Advising players’ unions on negotiations with leagues and national associations. Negotiating and drafting complex agreements involving parties in multiple jurisdictions require expertise in regulatory compliance.”
With his dissertation approved and accredited, ML is set to become the first professional Sports Lawyer in the country to undergo systematic training. For someone with such a humble background from an underserved tiny village in Baddibu, Momodou is the first and only lawyer from a town known for producing many intellectuals. This is more than just an academic accomplishment. It is a profound story of determination, perseverance, and commitment.
