Gambia national football team

Gambia

Association	Gambia Football Federation
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach	Sang Ndong
Captain	Omar Colley
Home stadium	Independence Stadium
FIFA code	GAM
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	174 2 (24 November 2016)
Highest	65 (June 2009)
Lowest	176 (October 2016)
Elo ranking
Current	124 (9 July 2014)
Highest	93 (January 1984)
Lowest	145 (22 November 1993)
First international
British Gambia 3–2 Senegal  (Gambia; 5 December 1962)
Biggest win
Gambia 6–0 Lesotho  (Banjul, Gambia; 12 October 2002)
Biggest defeat
Guinea 8–0 Gambia (Guinea; 14 May 1972)

The Gambia national football team, nicknamed The Scorpions, is the national team of the Gambia and is controlled by the Gambia Football Federation. Until 1965, the team, and the country, were known as British Gambia. It has never qualified for the World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations finals.

History

Under the name British Gambia, the team played their first ever game on 5 December 1962, beating neighbouring Senegal 3–2 at home in a friendly. In April 1963 the team entered the L'Amitié tournament in Senegal, a competition mainly for French-speaking nations. They were drawn in a group with France's amateur team, the Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) and Gabon. Their first match was lost 5–1 to the French amateurs on 11 April. The Gambia drew 2–2 with the Upper Volta on 13 April, and had the same result the very next day versus Gabon. The Gambia did not advance to the next round.

After the tournament in Senegal, the Gambia did not play another match until 16 November 1968, when they travelled to Sierra Leone to play its team in a friendly and lost 2–1. They played again in Sierra Leone in the Gambia's next match on 24 April 1971 and the hosts won 3–1. On 2 May 1971 the Gambia travelled to Guinea for a friendly and lost 4–2. On 14 May 1972 the Gambia returned to Guinea for their first African Games qualifier and lost 8–0 and were knocked out.

In 1975 the Gambia entered its first qualification campaign for the football at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Canada. They were drawn in a qualifier against Guinea, and lost the first leg 1–0 at home on 27 April 1975. The second leg was lost 6–0 in Guinea on 1 June as Guinea advanced 7–0 on aggregate.

In August 1975, the Gambia entered their first qualification for the African Cup of Nations, with the aim of reaching the 1976 finals in Ethiopia. They were drawn in a two-legged qualifier against Morocco and lost the first leg 3–0 away on 10 August. They lost by the same score in their home leg on 24 August and Morocco advanced 6–0 on aggregate.

After the qualification campaign for the 1976 finals, the Gambia played their first match against a full European side, losing a home friendly 4–1 to Denmark on 30 January 1977.^[1]

The Gambia's most famous player is Biri Biri, who starred for Sevilla FC in the 1970s.

In May 2014, The Gambia was banned from all CAF competitions for two years after deliberately falsifying players' ages.^[2]

Home stadium

Independence Stadium (Bakau) is a multi-purpose stadium in Bakau, Gambia. It is currently used mostly for football matches, although it is also used for music concerts, political events, trade fairs and national celebrations. The stadium holds 30,000 people.^[3]

Football fans watching Gambia v Guinea

Gambia Football Achievements

Amilcar Cabral Cup :

• 3 Times Runners-up

World Cup record

• 1930 to 1978 – Did not enter
• 1982 to 1986 – Did not qualify
• 1990 – Did not enter
• 1994 – Withdrew
• 1998 to 2018 – Did not qualify

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Gambia were drawn in the first qualifying round against Namibia and were eliminated following a 1–1 draw^[4] in Banjul and 1–2 defeat^[5] in Windhoek.

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Gambia  v  Namibia

9 October 2015 17:00 UTC±0

Gambia	1–1	Namibia
Jammeh  78'	Report (FIFA) Report (CAF)	Stephanus  61'

Independence Stadium, Bakau Referee: Ousmane Karembe (Mali)

Namibia  v  Gambia

13 October 2015 16:00 UTC+2

Namibia	2–1	Gambia
Stephanus  42' Somaeb  63'	Report (FIFA) Report (CAF)	Dibba  10'

Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek Referee: Joshua Bondo (Botswana)

Namibia won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second round against Guinea.

Africa Cup of Nations record

• 1957 to 1974 – Did not enter
• 1976 – Did not qualify
• 1978 – Did not enter
• 1980 to 1988 – Did not qualify
• 1990 – Withdrew
• 1992 – Did not qualify
• 1994 – Did not enter
• 1996 – Withdrew during qualifying
• 1998 – Banned for withdrawing in 1996
• 2000 – Withdrew
• 2002 to 2013 – Did not qualify
• 2015 – Banned
• 2017 – Did not qualify

2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

The draw put Gambia in group M with South Africa, Cameroon and Mauritania. The team drew their first game away in South Africa 0–0,^[6] but lost their first home game against Cameroon 0–1^[7] thanks to a goal by Vincent Aboubakar.

In the double-header of qualifiers in March 2016, Gambia lost 1–2^[8] against Mauritania in Nouakchott which featured a first international goal for Mustapha Carayol before drawing 0–0^[9] against the same team four days later in Banjul. Gambia will next face South Africa at home in June 2016 before playing their last qualification match away against Cameroon in September of the same year.

Results and Fixtures

South Africa  v  Gambia

13 June 2015 19:00 UTC+2[note 1]

South Africa	0–0	Gambia
	Report

Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban Referee: Hamada Nampiandraza (Madagascar)

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Gambia  v  Cameroon

6 September 2015 16:30 UTC±0

Gambia	0–1	Cameroon
	Report	Aboubakar  65'

Independence Stadium, Bakau Referee: Mohamed Said Kordi (Tunisia)

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Mauritania  v  Gambia

25 March 2016 16:30 UTC±0

Mauritania	2–1	Gambia
Moulaye Ahmed  36', 90+5'	Report	Carayol  65'

Stade Olympique, Nouakchott Referee: Isaac Montgomery (Liberia)

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Gambia  v  Mauritania

29 March 2016 16:30 UTC±0

Gambia	0–0	Mauritania
	Report

Independence Stadium, Bakau Referee: Fidel Gomes (Guinea-Bissau)

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Gambia  v  South Africa

4 June 2016 17:00 UTC±0

Gambia	0–4	South Africa
	Report	Gabuza  29', 38' Dolly  55', 79'

Independence Stadium, Bakau Referee: Denis Dembélé (Ivory Coast)

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Cameroon  v  Gambia

3 September 2016 15:30 UTC+1

Cameroon	2–0	Gambia
Moukandjo  35' (pen.) Ekambi  53'	Report

Stade Municipal de Limbe, Limbe Referee: Joseph Lamptey (Ghana)

Coaching staff

Former national team goalkeeper and national team head coach Sang Ndong was re-appointed into the role of head coach in February 2016.^[11][12] He has also spent time as technical director with the GFF previously and has stepped in as interim coach of the Scorpions on several occasions in the past. His appointment was a show of support for local coaches and introduced a process of rebuilding and rebranding the national team.^[13][14]

Head Coach	Sang Ndong
Assistant Coach	Mattar M'Boge
Assistant Coach	Alhagie Sarr
Goalkeeping Coach	Alhagie Marong
Team Doctor	Dr Emad Al Radwan
Physiotherapist	Wandifa Ceesay
Equipment Manager	Amadou LS Jaiteh

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly match against Zambia on 30 May and the 2017 African Cup of Nations qualification match against South Africa on 4 June 2016.^[15]

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
18	GK	Alhagie Nyabally	November 15, 1991	4	0	Real de Banjul FC
1	GK	Modou Jobe	October 27, 1988	5	0	ASC Niarry Tally
22	GK	Christopher Allen	December 19, 1989	8	0	Gambia Ports Authority
5	DF	Bubacarr Sanneh	November 14, 1994	4	0	AC Horsens
15	DF	Omar Colley	October 24, 1992	10	0	K.R.C. Genk
13	DF	Kebba Ceesay	November 14, 1987	11	0	Djurgårdens IF
2	DF	Gregory Sambou	October 25, 1994	4	0	Gambia Ports Authority
6	MF	Mass Manga	January 1, 1995	3	0	Banjul Hawks FC
17	DF	Alieu Jatta	September 18, 1995	2	0	Génération Foot
13	DF	Musa Yaffa	July 15, 1994	2	0	Banjul Hawks FC
3	DF	Nuha Barrow	October 10, 1993	2	0	GAMTEL
4	MF	Kaba Sambou	April 20, 1996	6	0	Stade de Mbour
2	MF	Hamza Barry	October 15, 1994	7	0	Hajduk Split
8	MF	Lamin Charty	April 8, 1996	5	0	Banjul Hawks FC
23	MF	Alagie Bah	January 16, 1994	1	0	Real de Banjul FC
14	MF	Sainey Sambou	February 2, 1992	1	0	Brikama United
8	MF	Demba Savage	June 17, 1988	12	1	BK Häcken
12	MF	Muhammed Conteh	March 31, 1996	1	0	Mbour Petite Côte
11	MF	Mustapha Carayol	September 4, 1988	3	1	Nottingham Forest
7	FW	Lamin Jallow	December 18, 1995	2	0	Chievo Verona
9	FW	Bacari	March 14, 1988	2	0	Cherno More
10	FW	Bubacarr Trawally	November 10, 1994	3	0	Yanbian Funde
11	FW	Bully Drammeh	July 15, 1995	5	0	Real de Banjul FC
16	FW	Emil Sambou	May 11, 1994	5	0	Santos F.C. (South Africa)
10	FW	Modou Barrow	October 3, 1992	4	0	Swansea City
14	FW	Pa Amat Dibba	October 15, 1987	5	1	Hammarby IF

Recent Call-Ups

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Pa Dembo Touray	March 30, 1980	24	0	Santos
16	GK	Sam Jammeh	November 18, 1991	0	0	FF Jaro
1	GK	Bubacarr Sanyang	October 21, 1994	3	0	Armed Forces
3	DF	Saihou Omar Saho	June 18, 1994	0	0	Brikama United
	DF	Ahmed Albassam	February 13, 1986	25	1	Steve Biko
	DF	Lamin Samateh	June 26, 1992	3	0	KuPS
	DF	Emmanuel Gómez	December 20, 1990	0	0	Samger FC
	MF	Dawda Ngum	September 2, 1990	1	0	FC Höllviken
	DF	Pa Saikou Kujabi	December 10, 1986	10	0	Whitehawk
	DF	Antou Badjan	September 13, 1995	0	0	Real de Banjul FC
24	DF	Algie Amadou Ngum	October 18, 1988	7	0	GAMTEL
3	DF	Abdou Jammeh	February 13, 1986	46	4	RoPS
13	DF	Matarr Nyan	October 23, 1989	2	0	Tusker F.C.
	DF	Pa Modou Jagne	December 26, 1989	16	0	FC Sion
3	DF	Ibou Touray	December 24, 1994	2	0	Rhyl F.C.
8	DF	Ousman Koli	October 18, 1988	12	0	Mladost Doboj Kakanj
	DF	Mamadou Danso	April 27, 1983	8	1	Rayo OKC
15	MF	Ebrima Sohna	December 14, 1988	18	2	KuPS
10	MF	Abdoulie Mansally	January 27, 1989	12	0	Houston Dynamo
11	MF	Saloum Faal	November 2, 1995	4	1	Casa Sports
12	MF	Mustapha Jarju	July 18, 1986	24	5	Irtysh Pavlodar
5	MF	Tijan Jaiteh	December 31, 1988	15	1	Koper
	MF	Sanna Nyassi	January 31, 1989	7	1	San Jose Earthquakes
	MF	Modou Jallow	July 26, 1995	1	0	Real de Banjul
20	MF	Modou Jatta	August 15, 1994	2	0	Steve Biko
	MF	Yusupha Bobb	June 22, 1996	0	0	A.C. Chievo Verona
	MF	Saihou Gassama	December 11, 1993	5	1	Real Zaragoza B
	MF	Yankuba Ceesay	June 26, 1984	5	0	AC Kajaani
	MF	Mamut Saine	December 31, 1993	0	0	RoPS
	MF	Baboucarr Sarr	August 30, 1983	0	0	Unattached
7	FW	Ebou Kanteh	February 12, 1995	3	1	Real de Banjul FC
21	FW	Momodou Ceesay	December 24, 1988	13	5	Maccabi Netanya
23	FW	Haruna Jammeh	June 2, 1991	2	1	Lombard-Pápa
	FW	Ali Sowe	June 14, 1994	5	0	Pescara
	FW	Alieu Darbo	August 3, 1992	0	0	El Ittihad Alexandria
9	FW	Omar Jagne	June 10, 1992	4	1	Dalkurd FF
	FW	Ebrahim "Ibou" Savaneh	September 7, 1986	6	0	Waasland-Beveren
21	FW	Assan Ceesay	March 17, 1994	1	0	FC Lugano
9	FW	Ousman Jallow	October 21, 1988	12	2	FC Irtysh Pavlodar

Coaches since 1987

• Hans Heiniger (1987–92)
• Sang Ndong (1993-94)
• Sang Ndong (1994–2003)
• Antoine Hey (2005–2006)
• José María Martínez López (2006–2007)
• Paul Put (2007–2011)
• Peter Bonu Johnson (2011–2012)
• Luciano Mancini (2012–2013)
• Peter Bonu Johnson (2013–2015)
• Raoul Savoy (2015)
• Sang Ndong (2016–)

References

1. "Gambia – List of International Matches". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
2. "The Gambia disqualified from all Caf competitions". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
3. http://www.gambiafa.com/the-gfa/gambia-national-stadium.html
4. "Namibia secured a 1–1 draw away to Gambia". kickoff.com. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
5. "Warriors beat Gambia to setup Guinea clash". nbc.na. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
6. "Misfiring Bafana held by Gambia". africanfootball.com. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
7. "Gambia vs Cameroon Match Report". africanfootball.com. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
8. "Late goal hands Mauritania win". africanfootball.com. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
9. "Gambia, Mauritania in a dull draw". africanfootball.com. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
10. "South Africa vs Gambia game delayed". IOL Sport. 13 June 2015.
11. "Former international Sang Ndong named new Gambia coach". bbc.com. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
12. "Gambia Reappoints Sang Ndong National Team Coach". observer.gm. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
13. "Scorpions Coach on Mauritania Game". observer.gm. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
14. "Scorpions Coach Appeals For Support in Rebuilding Process". observer.gm. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
15. "Modou Barrow:Swansea forward returns to The Gambia squad". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-18.

1. The South Africa v Gambia match was delayed from the original kick-off time of 15:00 local time due to late arrival of officials.^[10]

External links

• Gambia FA