Gambia national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Gambia women's national football team.
Gambia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)The Scorpions
AssociationGambia Football Federation
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationWAFU (West Africa)
Head coachTom Saintfiet
CaptainPa Modou Jagne
Most capsPa Modou Jagne (32)
Top scorerAssan Ceesay
Momodou Ceesay (6)
Home stadiumIndependence Stadium
FIFA codeGAM
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 130 Steady (4 April 2024)[1]
Highest65 (June 2009)
Lowest179 (March 2017)
First international
The Gambia British Gambia 2–1 Sierra Leone
(Gambia; 9 February 1953)
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 represents The Gambia in men's international football 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. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

History

Under the name British Gambia, the team played their first ever game on 9 February 1953 against Sierra Leone, winning 2–1 at home in a friendly.[3] 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 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.[4]

On 12 October 2002, the team got their biggest ever victory in international competition, a 6–0 victory against Lesotho. [5]

In May 2014, The Gambia was banned from all CAF competitions for two years after deliberately falsifying players' ages.[6]

The nation's fortunes improved in qualification for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. Although they failed to qualify, they took it to the final round of games, including drawing twice with African giants Algeria.

On 13 November, in their first Group D match of 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, Gambia defeated Angola 1–3 in Luanda. This was The Scorpions first away win in an AFCON or FIFA World Cup qualifier ever, at their 40th attempt.

Home stadium

Football fans watching Gambia v Guinea

Independence Stadium 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.[7]

Competitive record

Gambia Football Achievements

Amilcar Cabral Cup :
  • 3 Times Runners-up

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 to
Argentina 1978 		Did not enter Did not enter
Spain 1982 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 2 1
Mexico 1986 2 1 0 1 3 6
Italy 1990 Did not enter Did not enter
United States 1994 Withdrew Withdrew
France 1998 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 2 5
South Korea Japan 2002 2 0 0 2 0 3
Germany 2006 2 1 0 1 2 3
South Africa 2010 6 2 3 1 6 3
Brazil 2014 6 1 1 4 4 11
Russia 2018 2 0 1 1 2 3
Qatar 2022 2 0 0 2 1 3
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total – – – – – – – – 26 6 6 14 22 38

Africa Cup of Nations record

Africa Cup of Nations record
Host nation(s) / Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Sudan 1957 to Ghana 1963 Part of United Kingdom
Tunisia 1965 Not affiliated to CAF
Ethiopia 1968 to Egypt 1974 Did not enter
Ethiopia 1976 Did not qualify
Ghana 1978 Did not enter
Nigeria 1980 to Morocco 1988 Did not qualify
Algeria 1990 Withdrew
Senegal 1992 Did not qualify
Tunisia 1994 Did not enter
South Africa 1996 Withdrew during qualifying
Burkina Faso 1998 Banned for withdrawing in 1996
Ghana Nigeria 2000 Withdrew
Mali 2002 to South Africa 2013 Did not qualify
Equatorial Guinea 2015 Banned
Gabon 2017 Did not qualify
Egypt 2019
Cameroon 2021 To be determined
Ivory Coast 2023
Guinea 2025
Total – 0/32 – – – – – –

Recent schedule and results

The following is a list of match results from the previous 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss

2019

13 November 2019 (2019-11-13) 2021 AFCONQ Angola  1–3  Gambia Luanda, Angola
20:00 UTC+1
  • Eduardo 3'
 Report
Stadium: Estádio 11 de Novembro
Referee: Hassan Mohamed Hagi (Somalia)
18 November 2019 (2019-11-18) 2021 AFCONQ Gambia  2–2  DR Congo Bakau, Gambia
16:00 UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Independence Stadium
Referee: Norman Matemera (Zimbabwe)

2020

12 November 2020 (2020-11-12) 2021 AFCONQ Gabon  2–1  Gambia Franceville, Gabon
20:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Stade de Franceville
Referee: Kouassi Attiogbe (Togo)
16 November 2020 (2020-11-16) 2021 AFCONQ Gambia  2–1  Gabon Bakau, Gambia
16:00 UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Independence Stadium
Referee: Pacifique Ndabihawenimana (Burundi)

2021

22 March 2021 (2021-03-22) 2021 AFCONQ Gambia  v  Angola
--:-- UTC±0
30 March 2021 (2021-03-30) 2021 AFCONQ DR Congo  v  Gambia
--:-- UTC+1

Coaching staff

In July 2018, former Togo and Zimbabwe coach Tom Saintfiet, was appointed as head coach. Saintfiet took over from former international Sang Ndong who is now technical director of the Gambia Football Federation (GFF) following the end of his contract in January.[8]

Head Coach Belgium Tom Saintfiet
Technical Director The Gambia Sang Ndong
Assistant Coach The Gambia Mattar M'Boge
Goalkeeping Coach The Gambia Alhagie Marong
Team Doctor The Gambia Kalifa Manneh
Physiotherapist The Gambia Pa Matarr Ndow
Equipment Manager The Gambia Mustapha Kassama

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Gabon on 12 and 16 November 2020 respectively.

  • Caps and goals are correct as of: 16 November 2020, after the match against Gabon
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Modou Jobe (1998-10-27) 27 October 1998 (age 25) 25 0 Saudi Arabia Jeddah
1GK Baboucarr Gaye (1998-02-24) 24 February 1998 (age 26) 1 0 Germany Rot-Weiß Koblenz
1GK Sheikh Sibi (1998-02-21) 21 February 1998 (age 26) 0 0 Italy Virtus
2DF Pa Modou Jagne (C) (1989-12-26) 26 December 1989 (age 34) 37 2 Unattached
2DF Bubacarr Sanneh (1994-11-14) 14 November 1994 (age 29) 23 1 Denmark AGF
2DF Omar Colley (1992-10-24) October 24, 1992 (age 31) 20 0 Italy Sampdoria
2DF Mohammed Mbye (1989-06-18) 18 June 1989 (age 34) 8 0 Sweden Mjällby AIF
2DF Noah Sonko Sundberg (1996-06-06) 6 June 1996 (age 27) 3 0 Sweden Östersund
2DF Robin Bjørnholm-Jatta (1994-01-27) 27 January 1994 (age 30) 0 0 Norway Stjørdals-Blink
3MF Ebrima Sohna (1988-12-14) 14 December 1988 (age 35) 36 3 Unattached
3MF Ablie Jallow (1998-11-14) 14 November 1998 (age 25) 8 2 Belgium RFC Seraing
3MF Kalifa Manneh (1998-09-02) 2 September 1998 (age 25) 1 0 Italy Catania
3MF Sainey Njie (2001-07-30) 30 July 2001 (age 22) 1 0 Slovakia DAC Dunajská Streda
4FW Modou Barrow (1992-10-03) 3 October 1992 (age 31) 12 2 South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
4FW Bubacarr Jobe (1994-11-21) 21 November 1994 (age 29) 10 3 Sweden Mjällby
4FW Musa Barrow (1998-11-14) 14 November 1998 (age 25) 8 2 Italy Bologna
4FW Bubacarr Trawally (1994-11-10) 10 November 1994 (age 29) 8 0 United Arab Emirates Ajman
4FW Abdoulie Sanyang (1999-05-08) 8 May 1999 (age 25) 2 0 Belgium Beerschot

Recent call ups

Following players have been selected in last months

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Salifu Senghore (2000-10-01) 1 October 2000 (age 23) 0 0 Finland Lahti v.  Congo, 9 October 2020
DF Maudo Jarjué (1997-09-30) 30 September 1997 (age 26) 0 0 Austria Austria Wien v.  Gabon, 12 November 2020 PRE
DF Sulayman Bojang (1997-09-03) 3 September 1997 (age 26) 6 0 Norway Sarpsborg 08 v.  Congo, 9 October 2020
MF Dawda Ngum (1990-09-02) 2 September 1990 (age 33) 12 0 Denmark Brønshøj v.  Gabon, 16 November 2020 SUS
MF Ebrima Colley (2000-02-01) 1 February 2000 (age 24) 9 0 Italy Hellas v.  Gabon, 16 November 2020 INJ
MF Sulayman Marreh (1996-01-15) 15 January 1996 (age 28) 18 1 Belgium Gent v.  Congo, 9 October 2020
MF Alasana Manneh (1998-04-08) 8 April 1998 (age 26) 4 0 Poland Górnik v.  Congo, 9 October 2020
MF Sheriff Sinyan (1996-07-19) 19 July 1996 (age 27) 4 0 Norway Molde v.  Congo, 9 October 2020
FW Assan Ceesay (1994-03-17) 17 March 1994 (age 30) 16 7 Switzerland Zürich v.  Gabon, 12 November 2020 INJ
FW Nuha Marong (1993-06-16) 16 June 1993 (age 30) 2 0 Spain Recreativo Granada v.  Congo, 9 October 2020
FW Musa Juwara (2001-12-26) 26 December 2001 (age 22) 1 0 Portugal Boavista v.  Congo, 9 October 2020

WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.
INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
RET Player has retired from international football.
SUS Suspended from the national team.

Records

Top scorers

# Player Period Goals
1 Assan Ceesay 2018– 6
2 Mustapha Jarju 2006–2013 5
3 Aziz Corr Nyang 2005–2009 3
4 Jatto Ceesay 1995–2006 3
5 Samuel Kargbo 1995–1996 3

Ref[9]

References

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  3. ^ "World Football Elo Ratings: Gambia". World Football Elo Rankings. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Gambia – List of International Matches". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
  5. ^ "Gambia v Lesotho, 13 October 2002". 11v11.com.
  6. ^ "The Gambia disqualified from all Caf competitions". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2013-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Tom Saintfiet named new Gambia coach". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Gambia national football team statistics and records: Top Scorers". 11v11.

External links

  • GFF Official federation website
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