The National Sports Council chairman Borri Darboe yesterday announced that the suspension on GFF, which the latter never heeded, has been lifted following the Intervention of President Adama Barrow and conversation between Fifa and sports minister Henry Gomez.
Below is the full statement from the NSC read by chairman Borri Darboe.
“Upon the arrival of the Hon. Minister of Youth and Sports from his official overseas mission, the Minister on Monday the 27th of November, 2017 personally engaged the FIFA Secretary General Fatima Samoura and the FIFA African Representative, Mr Jeroum to find a solution to the standoff between National Sports Council and Gambia Football Federation. The talks are on-going and we will always put the interest of The Gambia first. The Minister of Youth and Sports also met the Head of State,His Excellency, Adama Barrow. The President showed great concern over the matter and asked the Minister to weigh-in the interest of the country’s athletes and avoid a possible suspension by FIFA.
“Following his meeting with the President, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Henry Gomez held discussions with officials of the NSC. As a result the NSC has decided with immediate effect to lift the suspension on the Executive members of GFF without any regret on its action.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the NSC has received a lot of complaints and protests forwarded to us from clubs and regions which cannot be left unattended to. As a regulatory body, we cannot afford to leave the aggrieved helpless. We will continue with our investigations and a report will be submitted to the president of the Republic of The Gambia, FIFA and made public. This will give every Gambian an opportunity to realize that our action was not taken out of malice for any individual but as part of a crusade to bring sanity and honesty in to football and every sporting discipline in this country.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, our action is part and parcel of an unstoppable drive against corruption and illegal dealings and should be measured in this regard to safeguard the reputation of the ideals of our New found Gambia .
“May I conclude by thanking the President, His Excellency Adama Barrow for his continuous support and concern to ensure that Gambian football develop along the right tracks. Also we appreciate the efforts of the Hon. Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Henry Gomez and FIFA in ensuring that we come to a lasting solution to the challenges facing Gambian football.
Long live the truth, long live the republic of The Gambia.”
