In recent years, one of the most exciting stories of Gambian football has been its ability to produce professional players from modest local football, despite limited infrastructure and scarce resources. From dusty community pitches to packed mini stadiums, dreams have been nurtured, talents discovered, and national pride strengthened. Yet, behind this inspiring narrative lies a far more troubling reality.
Many footballers have seen their dreams shattered, not by lack of talent, but by injuries that ended careers, and in some cases, threatened lives, such as concussions, cardiac arrest, and severe airway obstruction adding to the frequently heard-of injuries. When such incidents occur, they expose uncomfortable gaps in preparedness.
Across The Gambia, it is common to see public appeals or media campaigns seeking support for injured footballers who require overseas medical treatment. Often, clubs are blamed for failing their players. But this raises a deeper question: how much medical capacity truly exists within local football structures and actors to prevent, manage, and respond to serious injuries?
“We Just Want to Play”
One of the most glaring gaps is medical insurance. On whether Gambian league clubs provide medical insurance for their players, the head coach of record-Gambian champions, Ebrima Jatta and an anonymous active league footballer were unequivocal on this issue.
“I have never heard or seen such an event within league clubs,” Jatta said.
“And I don’t think club owners have yet adopted the mindset of insuring their players with medical insurance.”
For players, the absence of insurance compounds vulnerability.
“That is one of the reasons why many footballers in The Gambia are failing,” the anonymous footballer explained.
“The clubs are not considering this or are completely ignoring insurance. We just want to play, and that is a problem.”
Playing through pain, untreated injuries, and undiagnosed medical conditions has become normalised—until something goes terribly wrong.
The Real Stories Occur
One such moment unfolded recently at the Basse Mini Stadium during a summer tournament match locally called “Nawetan”. It was the 70th minute when a midfielder of Allunhareh FC suddenly collapsed on the pitch after a collision. Players froze in panic as he began gasping for air. He attempted to seize his tongue—a common but dangerous instinct born out of fear rather than medical knowledge. In those terrifying seconds, the difference between life and death depended on immediate action.
That action came from an unlikely hero: Enoch Badjan, an opposing player on the game with Kansala FC with a medical background. On that day, he was not just a footballer, but also a proven nurse.
“To be frank with you, as both a footballer and a medical professional, the incident at Basse Mini Stadium was emotional and unforgettable. It still runs through my head,” Enoch recalled.
“Everything happened so swiftly, but my medical training took over immediately. When I saw an opponent struggling for air and nearly seizing his tongue, I did not see a rival or an opponent, I saw a brother, someone’s son, maybe a husband who needed help.”
Within seconds, life-saving measures were initiated. The victim survived. But the incident left behind a sobering lesson.
Less than a week later, tragedy struck again in the same region. A former Gambian Second Division League player with Wagadu FC collapsed while playing for a community team in another Nawetan match. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead. Although no official medical certificate confirmed the cause, eyewitnesses said the collapse was similar to the Basse mini stadium incident. This time, there was no trained responder on hand.
His brother, Naffa Krubally’s voice still carries the weight of loss.
“Sulayman was hardworking,” he said quietly. “He would leave football which he has so much passion for to help the family during the farming season. Losing him created a huge void. His wife was young, with children, and it traumatises her to look around and not see him again.”
This reflects a similar story to that of Sulayman, this time Bakary Daffeh of Kitty Football Club who lost his life in December 2025 after reportedly sustaining an injury in the West Coast Region third division game. He was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead.
These cases and many others have exposed how fragile the lives of Gambian footballers can be. While football-related injuries are common, those with immediate life-threatening consequences remain a persistent and under-addressed risk.
Efforts Done or Considered Options
Football is the most followed sport in The Gambia, active almost all year round—from Nawetan tournaments in summer to league competitions stretching through winter and beyond. Fans travel kilometres to support their teams, but many leave stadiums not only with memories of goals and victories, but with images of injuries that never truly fade.
“Even when our team wins, we leave the stadium with scars in our minds,” said football enthusiast Adama Baldeh. “It is painful to watch players suffer. Authorities must work with clubs to standardise safety.”
Reflecting on the Basse incident, Enoch Badjan emphasized that such survival should never depend on chance.
“Having immediate access to a trained sports medical professional during a football match is absolutely critical, especially in life-threatening emergencies like cardiac arrest or airway obstruction,” he said.
“When a player collapses, every second counts. A trained medic can recognise the danger, secure the airway, and initiate CPR if needed.”
Yet, to many coaches and players, sports medicine remains an afterthought. Conversations with Gambian footballers and coaches reveal frustration: everyone acknowledges its importance, but little is done.
“Yes, I once saw a teammate collapse after an aerial collision,” said Gaira Joof, a Gambian First Division and former U-23 player.
“He fell face-down, and another player tried to hold his tongue. Luckily, the medics arrived in time. But although I have never had official CPR training, it is crucial to create such platforms for players, coaches, and team staff. I am a victim of such serious injuries as I have suffered an ACL tear before.”
For Coach Ebrima Jatta of the Real de Banjul FC, the neglect is alarming.
“No coach receives sports medical training here, not even basic first aid,” he said.
“The instructors themselves are not well acquainted with modern sports medicine. That is why I don’t allow my physiotherapist to handle delicate cases. These gaps seriously hinder the development and longevity of our young talents.”
The concern is even more pronounced in women’s football. Sainey M’Boge, a women’s football administrator, highlighted unique risks.
“Many medical issues start at training grounds. Some players are not fit enough or have underlying conditions,” she explained. “The heat in The Gambia is extreme. Women collapse easily, and without professional attention, it can be dangerous. We need the GFF medical department, with support from the NSC, to tackle these risks with standardise sport medical programs and provisions.”
A national concern on what remains
At the institutional level, the Gambia Football Federation’s medical department acknowledges both progress and challenges. According to its head doctor, Kalifa Manneh, common injuries such as knee, ankle, groin, and head injuries are often poorly treated, forcing many players out of football prematurely.
“We have only witnessed two or three cases of cardiac arrest where they were all responded to and saved, except one who died. Since, we do conduct Pre-Competition Medical Assessments every season for all clubs in alignment FIFA regulations, including heart examinations like ECG and echocardiography,” he explained.
“This helps us minimise cardiac arrest cases. But concussion remains a major problem because players and coaches often don’t recognise it.”
However, according to Manneh, financial constraints also play a major role in the neglect of proper medical screening.
“The cost of medical examinations depends on where you go,” he explained.
“Government hospitals may sometimes do it gratis, but private clinics charge between D5,000 and D7,000 per player for pre-competition examinations, including physical checks, lab tests, ECG, and more. For an entire squad, the cost can exceed D50,000, a figure many clubs cannot afford.’’
“Some teams don’t even have a physiotherapist because they cannot pay one,” Dr Manneh added.
Yet the risk of not investing is far greater. Knee, ankle, groin, and head injuries remain common, and while pre-competition medical assessments are conducted for registered league clubs, community football remains dangerously exposed.
At the national level, the Acting Executive Director of the National Sports Council, Mahmoud L. Jawla, admitted that sports safety measures remain inadequate.
“There is no clearly defined national guideline or Medical Emergency Action Plan,” he said. “Injured athletes are often managed by Red Cross emergency responses. This puts lives at just a lesser risk.”
However, he pledged reforms, including minimum medical standards for competitions, accreditation of sports medical personnel, and integration of sports medicine into national sports development plans.
Is a Professional League Possible?
As The Gambia Football Federation eyes, a fully professional football league in the very near future, questions persist about whether ambition is overtaking infrastructure, which includes structured football medicine program.
Dr Manneh remains cautiously optimistic.
“Yes, a professional league is attainable,” he said, “But only if we invest in our clubs. Sports medicine is all about investment. If we want professionalism, we must be willing to invest in qualified physiotherapists and doctors.”
At the federation level, he noted, efforts are being made to equip medical personnel with the best possible knowledge in football medicine, even in the absence of a national sports medicine policy.
A System Still Emerging
FIFA-recognised Gambian sports medicine expert, Dr Muhammed Lamin Touray believes Gambian sports medicine is emerging but far from structured.
“We have clinicians and physiotherapists handling basic injury care and rehabilitation,” he said.
“But the field is not structured. There are no standardised medical protocols, limited specialised training, and minimal integration of injury-prevention programmes from grassroots to elite levels.”
Dr Touray provided sobering clinical insight saying ACL tears, meniscus injuries, ankle sprains, groin and hamstring strains dominate Gambian football. “These injuries are often career-damaging,” he noted.
“They occur due to poor warm-ups, lack of conditioning, bad playing surfaces, limited medical screening, and poor training-load management.”
Beyond injuries themselves, Dr Touray warned of a systemic blind spot—the absence of data. “Without a national injury surveillance system, we are guessing,” he said.
“Data helps us identify trends, guide prevention strategies, and develop our own national medical guidelines instead of copying others.”
Prevention Is Cheaper Than Cure
Dr Touray stressed that solutions do not always require huge budgets. “There are scientifically proven injury-prevention programmes like FIFA 11+,” he explained.
“They are cost-effective, simple, and significantly reduce lower-limb injuries when used consistently.”
He also pointed to regional examples. “Countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Senegal have dedicated centres for athletes with basic diagnostic tools. They understand that injuries are inevitable in sport. This is not the case for The Gambia.”
Among his recommendations, Doctor Touray called for Mandatory pre-participation medical evaluations for clubs and athletes, including ECG, blood tests, kidney and liver function tests, standard emergency medical action plans for every match, well-equipped ambulances and trained personnel at match venues, education of coaches and players on detective injuries, such as concussion and its recovery protocols, and a cultural shift that prioritises health before competition.
“Football is a contact sport,” he warned. “Headers, goalkeeper collisions, cardiac stress, concussions, these things demand medical readiness.”
With these, the message from every corner is clear – sports medicine can no longer be optional. From community Nawetan pitches to elite league stadiums, protecting athletes’ lives must come before competition.
Because in Gambian football, talent may ignite dreams but without proper medical care, those dreams can end in seconds.
