By Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
Under the sun at the busy Westfield, where a large number of protesters gathered, a restless crowd of football faithful erupted in a torrent of boos as Mahmoud Lamin Jawla, Acting Executive Director of the National Sports Council (NSC), arrived at around 2:50 PM to collect a petition from the Gambians Against Looted Assets (GALA). The protesters, their voices raw from hours of chanting at the bustling urban crossroads, had waited over an hour past their 1:30 PM permit’s expiration, and their cries of “Shame on you! Shame on you!” sliced through the din, a raw outpouring of fury over the decay of Gambian football.
The 11-page petition, handed over by GALA’s spokesperson Omar Camara amid the clamour, was a searing indictment of the Gambia Football Federation (GFF). Signed with the weight of a nation’s hopes, it accused the federation of corruption, financial mismanagement, and squandering $11 million from FIFA and CAF between 2014 and 2024, leaving promised football fields in ruins and grassroots dreams unfulfilled. For the players, coaches, and activists clutching placards in the heart of Westfield, this was a fight for the soul of their sport.
Unfinished Fields, Shattered Dreams
The petition lays bare a litany of broken promises. It calls the Jarra Soma project “a stark reminder of neglect and unfulfilled promises since 2015,” bereft of seating, dressing rooms, or pavilions. In Gunjur, a 2018 initiative “remains unfinished and unusable, causing frustration among the youth and football enthusiasts.” Bakau’s mini-stadium has a perimeter fence, but its pavilion is incomplete, and the grass pitch, sustained by diaspora efforts, wilts under an erratic water supply. Banjul’s field, meant to gleam with floodlights and artificial turf, is marred by non-functional lights and a pitch “deemed unplayable” after two replacements since 2022.
The Serrekunda West project, funded by FIFA, is branded “one of the worst projects ever undertaken by the GFF,” with industrial floodlights unfit for football and no pavilion or proper pitch. Similar tales of neglect haunt Manjai, Brikama, Busumbala, and the National Technical Training Centre, where a D44 million renovation, reportedly overseen by GFF’s 1st Vice President, Bakary K. Jammeh, sparks “concerns about a conflict of interest.”
“These fields were meant to grow talent, not gather weeds,” said Fatou Camara, a local football fan among the protesters, her voice thick with emotion as she stood amidst the Westfield throng. “The GFF is robbing our youth of their future.”
Funds Vanished, Stakeholders Sidelined
Beyond infrastructure, the petition accuses the GFF of diverting funds intended for grassroots development, stating that “direct funds from FIFA for club support are often diverted to irrelevant expenditures.” First-division clubs owed 200,000 annually, and second-division clubs owed 150,000, face chronic payment delays. Referees, entitled to 50,000 yearly, “face difficulties in receiving their payments,” while women’s football, allocated 125,000 annually, “remains neglected and demoralised.” A 1.5 million FIFA COVID-19 relief fund in 2020 was “misappropriated, with little benefit realised for the intended recipients.”
The Players Association, Coaches Association, and Schools Football Association languish in neglect, with the petition noting that “the Schools Football Association has not held any competitions since 2021, demotivating both the association and players.” It also questions the GFF’s handling of 300,000 in annual CAF funds for infrastructure, asserting that “funds received from CAF for national team participation in AFCON tournaments have not been reinvested locally.”
“The GFF frequently emphasises its accountability to stakeholders, but we firmly believe that it also has a responsibility to the communities that provide access to funds from FIFA through the utilisation of their parks,” the petition declares, demanding transparency for the Gambian public.
A Cry for Justice at Westfield
As Jawla clutched the petition and retreated through the jeering crowd, the pulse of Westfield protesters seemed to beat in unison with GALA’s call for change. The petition urges the NSC to launch “a thorough investigation into GFF based on the concerns raised,” which it believes “indicate significant mismanagement of funds intended for the benefit of the Gambian populace.” It demands action to “address the embezzlement and mismanagement of funds” and ensure “future investments are utilised effectively for the development of football in The Gambia.”
As dusk settled over Westfield’s chaotic sprawl, the protesters dispersed, their chants fading but their resolve unshaken. GALA’s petition has lit a fire under Gambian football, and with the NSC now in the spotlight, the nation waits to see if justice will kick off a new era for the sport.
