By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
The Minister of Youth & Sports, Bakary Y. Badjie has said his ministry has put to CAF field inspector, Muhammed F. Sidat, to grant the Gambia temporary approval to play its home match against Congo in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in September at the Independence Stadium if the football body’s requirements are not met before mid-August, although he stressed that the contractors are working tirelessly to meet the requirements before the CAF deadline.
He confirmed this in an exclusive interview with The Fatu Network yesterday, July 26 at his home in Kanifing Estate.
Mr Badjie explained the commitment on the side of the government to ensure that the stadium is remodelled to the CAF standard but noted that the approval is a decision that can only be made by CAF.
“In our meeting with him (Muhammad F. Sidat), we told him that even if there are certain things that they believe are supposed to be done but are not done, we can go in for a temporal approval to allow the September match to date to be played here, and then we can complete the rest later,” he told TFN.
However, he stressed that the ministry and contractors are tirelessly working harder to make sure that everything is done to fulfil the requirements to host games at home.
“We are working tirelessly to ensure that what is needed to be done is done before their final coming. And hopefully, we will be able to fulfil that,” he remarked.
Badjie further emphasized the commitment of the government of the Gambia towards remodelling the stadium. He explained that the government spending 160 million dalasi on the renovation of the stadium clearly indicates the government’s desire to improve the stadium to host games.
“One thing that is clear is that there is an absolute readiness on the side of the government. If the government is ready to spend 160 million dalasi on the stadium which was not budgeted for, we are committed to improving the stadium and putting it up to standard,” he remarked.
