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 Association (GFA), 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 Association 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.
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Gambia Football Association:
 The GFA 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.
| President: |
Mr. Seedy M.B. Kinteh |
| Vice President: |
Colonel Lang Tombong Tamba |
| Secretary:
|
Jammeh E.K. Bojang |
| Treasurer: |
Buba Janneh |
 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 $250,000 subvention from the world governing
body (FIFA) for national associations only.
Picture credits:
Ball
B/W
David Beckham
Stadium
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