Mention the name Under-20 and you are sure to send chills down the spine of Gambian football fans. It was the trouble with the 2014 Under-20 team that resulted in a global ban of the country by Fifa.
However prior to that debacle though, The Gambia finished with a bronze at the 2007 African championship in Brazzaville and went to the World Series in Canada. Omar Sise too came close to qualifying to the last edition.
Now, the mantle has been placed on the shoulders of Matarr Mboge who must build a team that will compete for the 2019 championship in Niger. Ahead of the qualifiers expected in April Mboge has picked a 25-man squad for training. But according to him, the process he started is not just to pick players but to develop them for the future.
“I think it’s important to highlight that this is a team for the future and we’ve placed greater emphasis on player potential and player development as we feel that this is the key priority for the U20s,” he told the GFF website.
The coach also hinted that he has kept tabs on the players for some time.
“We’ve been aware of some of these players for over two years now and we must help them to progress to the most competitive leagues in the world and eventually cement their place in the senior Scorpions squad. The door isn’t closed for anyone either and whilst congratulating those who made this initial selection, I also want to warn them that they will have to work even harder to maintain their place.”
The training sessions will be held over a total of four days with the first batch taking place on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th December 2017 and the second on Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd January 2018.
List of invited players:-
Yankuba COLLEY (Hawks)
Ousman SUNNO (Young Africans)
Alagie SAHO (BK Milan)
Ahmed Tijan SAVAGE (Real de Banjul)
Modou JADAMA (Brikama Utd)
Zakaria CEESAY (BK Milan)
Musa Bala DANSO (Hawks)
Mustapha SECKA (Banjul Utd)
Modou NDOW (Wallidan)
Sadi GAYE (Wallidan)
Habibou MENDY (Brikama Utd)
Modou CORR (Marimoo)
Alfusainey JATTA (Fortune)
Bai SONKO (Armed Forces)
Malick SARR (Banjul Utd)
Saikou TOURAY (Marimoo)
Muhammed KABA (GPA)
Saikou CAMARA (Wallidan)
Ousman JOOF (Marimoo)
Pa Modou SOHNA (Real de Banjul)
Ismaila CEESAY (Marimoo)
Abdoulie SARR (Banjul Utd)
Matarr BADJIE (Hawks)
Alasana JATTA (Real de Banjul)
Modou Lamin DEMBA (Real de Banjul)
