By Madi Jobarteh
Sporting associations and federations are established for a clear and legitimate purpose: to create opportunities for excellence, growth, and success in sport. This includes developing quality facilities, organizing competitive and credible leagues, building strong and well-resourced national teams, qualifying for continental and global tournaments, and winning trophies that inspire national pride. It is from this perspective that the performance of the Gambia Football Federation (GFF) must be assessed.
From that standpoint, the reports emerging from the GFF’s just concluded annual general meeting regarding its financial condition are deeply troubling and demand national attention. Any organization that finds itself accumulating debts while its assets decline is, by definition, poorly managed. Such an institution warrants serious scrutiny, including a thorough and independent investigation into its governance, finances, and decision-making processes.
While Fifa regulations restrict direct government intervention in the internal affairs of national football federations, this does not place the GFF beyond accountability. On the contrary, it makes the role of citizens, football stakeholders, and the football community even more critical. Players, clubs, regional associations, supporters, sponsors, and civil society must now rise to confront persistent mismanagement and chronic underperformance.
Since its inception, the GFF has qualified the Gambia for the Africa Cup of Nations only twice. It has never qualified the country for the FIFA World Cup. At regional and sub-regional levels, the Gambia is not recognized as a football powerhouse. Yet there exist incredibly skillful footballers in the history of the country which has consistently produced great individual stars from Biri Biri to Yankuba Minteh!
Domestically, our leagues are neither lucrative nor competitive enough to attract serious investment, retain top talent, or elevate the game to an enviable standard. Yet, year after year, the GFF continues to receive millions of dollars from FIFA and CAF, in addition to public funds from the Government and contributions from citizens.
Even the physical infrastructure developed by the GFF tells a worrying story. Facilities built under its watch are, in many cases, substandard and far from meeting acceptable benchmarks for modern football development. This raises serious questions about value for money, procurement processes, and project oversight.
Allegations of corruption have long been associated with the GFF, yet the institution appears insulated from accountability. Recent petitions by Gambians Against Looted Assets (GALA), for example, were met with an astonishing 28-page response from the GFF that was self-righteous, condescending, and replete with flamboyant and misleading narratives. Crucially, this response failed to address the core issues of financial mismanagement, inefficiency, and systemic corruption.
This leads to a fundamental question: what are the decision-makers within the GFF doing?
The presidents of first and second division clubs, along with the heads of regional football associations, are the electorate of the federation. They possess the voting power that determines who leads the GFF and how it is governed. If mismanagement persists, responsibility must extend beyond the executive to those who repeatedly elect and re-elect failed leadership. Clubs and regional associations cannot continue to plead innocence while enabling incompetence through their votes.
At the same time, it must be acknowledged that the failures of the GFF are compounded by the failures of the state. It is indefensible that the Gambia’s national stadium remains out of service for years due to poor and delayed renovations. It is even more scandalous that, after 60 years of independence, the country effectively relies on a single national stadium.
By now, each of the seven administrative regions should have at least one fully operational, international-standard football stadium. Local councils should have developed municipal or regional stadiums, and well-run clubs should have been in a position to build and own their own stadiums.
None of this is unrealistic. The opportunities for football development in this country are immense. What has failed is not potential, but governance. Poor organisation by the GFF, weak policy support from central and local government, and the absence of meaningful private-sector engagement have combined to stifle progress.
This national malaise must be confronted and changed.The GFF must be governed transparently, professionally, and in the national interest. Anything less is a betrayal of our youth, our talent, and our collective aspirations.
We look forward to the “national football symposium in February 2026” announced by the GFF president Lamin Kaba Bajo if it will address these fundamental and troubling issues.
For The Gambia, Our Homeland
