After guiding The Gambia national team to the quarter- finals in the on-going Afcon 2021, Coach Tom Sainfiet was conspicuously absent from the welcome ceremonies at the airport and at State House on Wednesday.
It was not immediately known to the public why he did not travel with the team back especially after such a glamorous performance at the Afcon.
The coach has not yet said anything publicly about his absence since he left the delegation which was delayed in Cameroon by flight contract failures.
However, according to Gambia Football Federation president Lamin Bajo, the coach had a pressing family demand necessitating him to get back to Belgium. Other reports said the coach’s daughter has made so much noise about missing her father that Tom had to rush back immediately. “He was all along with us until shortly before we leave but he needed to go to the family in a hurry,” a senior GFF official told The Standard yesterday.
Meanwhile, even before the team left Cameroon it was widely reported that Tunisia had expressed interest in hiring Tom Sainfiet. Both Mr Sainfiet and GFF are yet to comment on the reported approach of the Tunisian FA. It is not also clear whether his curious impromptu departure from Douala is connected with the reported job offer.
