Gambia National Football Team:
 The
soccer squad, who are also nicknamed The Scorpions,
are the national football team of Gambia who are overseen
by the Gambia Football Association. Until 1965, the
team, and the country, were known as "British Gambia".
It has never qualified for the World Cup.
 The
country kicked off the qualifiers for the African Cup
of Nations 2004 with an historic draw against Senegal
and silver-medallists at the African Cup of Nations
2002) and also enjoyed a short period at the top of
their qualifying group. Gambia's most famous soccer
players are Jatto Ceesay, Ebou Sillah, Seffo Soley and
Edrissa Sonko.
Uniform Team Kit:
| Shorts: |
Red/blue/white |
| Jerseys: |
Red/blue/white |
| Socks: |
Red/blue/white |
Popularity:
Soccer is by far the most popular sport as a spectators
sport and pastime, loved by Gambians of all ages and
in particular the young. The country's international
success is very limited due to its small size which
limits the pool size from which talent can be drawn.
In the last few years, football in Gambia has experienced
a considerable rise in popularity particularly with
the advent and increasing use of satellite television
which has bought the likes of David Beckham & international
league games to people's homes.
All seven regions of the nation are represented by clubs
in the first, second and third divisions of the national
championship. Recently, an official women's championship
has also been organised. At youth level, Gambia qualified
for the African U-17 Championship for the first time
in 2003, when the event was held in Swaziland.
Independence Stadium in Bakau frequently hosts local
and international matches, attended by large crowds,
as tickets are free or quite inexpensive.
Major League Championships:
The major league, Gambia Football Federation (GFF),
has perhaps the largest following, with teams such as
Wallidan, Real de Banjul, Hawks, Ports, Armed Forces,
and Bakau United. Tickets are free for regular season
games and about $0.35-$1.25 for finals.
Minor League Championships:
The birthplace of the Super Nawettan Championship, also
known as the Zonal Championship is Bakau. Nawettan is
the minor league which is played during the rainy season,
often on water logged pitches. Tickets cost about $0.10-$0.18.
Serrekunda East won the 2006 Zonal Cup after defeating
the Brikama team in the final. Bakau defeated Banjul's
City Boys in the Africell sponsored zonal tournament
after defeating Banjul 1-0 in a replay held on Sunday
December 9th, 2007.
On September 7th, 2008 Wallidan came from 2 goals down
to win their 18th Gamtel sponsored FA cup title over
Samger and their second this season. The game which
had ended in a 2-2 draw was decided on penalties which
went in favour of Wallidan. The team scored 4 while
their opponents scored 2 goals.
This result has made Wallidan Champions of both the
2007/08 Gambia Football Federation League and FA Cup.
The triumphant Wallidan side went away with a trophy
and a prize of D50,000 while Samger received D30,000.
Futsal:
In June 2008 over 20 Gambian coaches underwent a training
course on Futsal by Six British instructors. It is essentially
an indoor five-a-side soccer game with small goal posts
and a small ball. The game, which is endorsed by UEFA
and FIFA, is derived from the Spanish words for 'football
- Fútbol and 'hall' – Sala and was coined
by the United States Futsal Federation.
Gambia
Football Federation:
The GFF is the governing body of football in Gambia.
It was founded in 1952, and
affiliated to FIFA since 1968 and to CAF (Confederation
Of African Football or Confédération Africaine
de Football) in 1968. It organizes the national league
matches and the national team.
In August 2007 they were handed over the keys to their
new administrative buildings as part of the Goal Bureau
project called the Football House to which FIFA contributed
$400,000 of the cost while $50,000 was contributed by
the GFA.
There is a yearly subvention from the world governing
body (FIFA) for national associations only.
Postal Address:
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