Real de Banjul won its 15th title in Gambian football in grand style on Thursday, with two matches to spare. It is their third national football league in a row, a rare achievement the club said signals a brighter future.
That future now includes a serious shot at continental football as highly placed sources in the club told The Standard that Real will register in the Caf champions’ league this year. That would end over decade’s absence by Gambia in the Caf champions’ league. With its head coach Lamin Jatta soon to complete an A- License course in Liberia, Real would meet the necessary technical competence standards set by Caf for participants in the competition. Real’s motivation by the lucrative nature of the competition and the need to brush sides with Africa’s giants is even more luring.
The domestic success and projection of the dawn of international journey come from real hard work, effective planning and investment.
In the last few years alone, the club has secured its own infrastructure, which it says will allow its players live their football goals and dreams. The Basori -village facility offers a standard football pitch and soon- to be built- modern football accommodation, amenities and school where intakes will live their football and academic dreams and goals.
To complement this, a robust administrative unit has been set up and located on a land the club acquired and built to serve as the nerve centre of Real de Banjul Football Club. Kerr Real as the complex is called, stands imposingly next to The Independence Stadium. Real also have been busy in the transfer market albeit in relatively small league in Europe from where its former players transited to big leagues around the world. Clearly the most organised club in the country Real de Banjul dreams of scaling further heights.
History
The name of the club started as Benson and Hedges FC, the name of a cigarette brand that probably sponsored a group of school boy internationals to a successful outing in Thies Senegal in the 1966-67 season. The boys formed themselves into a football club that laid the foundation of 50 years of solid achievement
The name was eventually changed by the then Director of Youth and Sports, who was the team’s sports officer, and upon its registration with the then Gambia Football Association, the club was headquartered at 81 Lancaster Street in Banjul.
The team witnessed another name change in 1970, from Real de Bathurst to its present Real de Banjul, and with it, an expansion to include basketball (male and female), volleyball and athletics.
Even during that early stage the team comprised the most talented young players in the country and went on to win its first league title in the 1971/72 season.
The club invented a doctrine and mantra based on encouraging young soccer talents and molding them to embrace an interesting style of football called the Sandango, in an environment characterised by a true spirit of camaraderie making Real de Banjul the toast of Gambian football.
Consequently it was Real that all national teams coaches turned to for recruitment, and at one time, apart from the legendary Wallidan FC duo Biri Biri and Sega, the entire first eleven of the national team came from Real de Banjul.
In the 1973/74 season, Real hosted the then Senegal Premier League and FA Cup champions, AS Diaraf, followed by several international matches against Senegalese clubs at home and abroad, notably against ASC Jeanne d’Arc, Cassa Sport, US Sportive du Rail as well as a selection in Nouakchott, Mauritania, and Bendel Insurance FC of Nigeria.
Real de Banjul also played friendly international matches against European sides like CKA of Russia, B1901 and B1909 from Denmark, Örebro SK from Sweden among others, resulting in the team gaining.
Valuable experience and respect from all these encounters.
In 1974, Real suffered the loss of hugely talented player Joof Fye who passed away while score f, others left for greener pastures abroad. They include Nyanga Sallah, Peggy Joof, Jeremiah Sock, Muntaga Gillen, Musa Njie, Gerneth Coker, Badou Foon and Sam Forster, following the footstep of Mam Sait Njie , Hank who left a year earlier.
Six other players switched sides to join the newly formed Gambia Ports Authority FC; inspirational captain Sam Sibi, Tapha Conteh, Kebba Ceesay and Gabba Touray.
Also , some of the founding financiers and team officials too left the club for one reason or the other leading to fears that the club will die, but the latent potential of the team came forth in earnest. With the assistance and resilience of the remaining elders, notably Ebou Conteh, Kebba Conteh, SB Jarra, MO Njie, Sogie Sock and Momodou Gassama, supported by veteran retired players like Saihou Sarr, Kebba Diaz, Ebou Joof, Jim Wadda, Patrick Njie and Pa Faal, new talents were groomed and given the chance to prove themselves. They include the likes of Bye Malleh Wadda, Commy Owens, Ablie Jagne, Philip Sowe, Jim Mahoney, Faraba Maya, Bun Njie amongst others.
These boys proved themselves so well that in 1975, Real won the league title undefeated in the whole campaign and was runners up in the FA cup against GPA.
Real became the first Gambian team to register in the African club championships but could not honour its fixture against Guinea’s Hafia FC due to technical difficulties experienced by the then Gambia Football Association which has to withdraw Real’s participation.
Real did make it to the African club championships the following year but was eliminated by Djoliba Athletic Club of Mali ..
In the 1977/78 season, Real as league champions with Kebba Diaz and Gabba Touray back from Gambia Ports Authority, and Ablie Jagne, Pa Mu Ndow, Bun, Njock Njie, late Dankeh Nyang and others, participated in the African club championship again, this time, against Saint Joseph Warriors FC of New Kru Town, Monrovia, Liberia and Ghana’s Hearts of Oaks.
Ironically the following season, 1978/79, Real was relegated to the Second Division but managed to regain promotion almost immediately with the assistance of its supporters effective players like Arfang Ndow and Ousman Ndure.
Real was runner-up in the 1980 FA Cup final against Gambia Ports Authority and from 1980 up to 1984, when football matches were transferred to the Independence stadium, Real had been runners-up in several competitions and tournaments.
Several young talents had also joined the team, notably, Saul Jagne, Lamin Sillah and Ebou Dubois. A year later, the club went on to become runners-up in the FA cup against Hawks.
In 1986, the club won the Saihou Ceesay Cup and the Guinness Cup against Young Africans and Gambia Ports Authority respectively.
Between the 1986 to 1993 the team underwent several changes in the wake in activeness Gambia of the Gambia Football Association and the public’s attitude towards league football which led to the team missing out on trophies in comparison to rivals Wallidan. This disparity was then redressed within the FA Cup finals that year, on Sunday the 27th of June 1993.
By 1993, Real won the first division league six times, the FA also six times as well as the SS Ceesay and Guinness Cup, one each..
Real went on to survive and achieve greater success relying on the services of sincere and reliable veterans like John Gomez [PaMu Ndow], Sulayman Jagne, Lamin Sillah and of course Ebou Dubois, complimented by the invaluable services of outspoken Bambo Fatty, coupled with Coach Alhagie Sillah and the rejuvenated team of dedicated and committed talents such as Wandeh N’Jie, Momodou Lamin Jones, Sulayman Bun Njie, Na Boy, Kebba Conteh, James Mbenga, Sengan Ndure, Mohammed Boully Jammeh, Momodou Lamin Sey, Madoune Mboob [Oulaye], Badou Samba, Ba Tambadou, Momodou Boy Fye, Tijan Yullah, Simone Ndure, Mustapha Bittaye, Jacob Nzally, Pa Amadou Jallow, Ebou Kolly, Ebou N’Jie, Bekai Mbenga, Dodou Sarr, Baboucar Sey [Mbat], Jumbo Jallow, Matarr Boye, Mohammed Adams [Dinny Boy] and Amadou Ada.
These were the Real de Banjul players of the 1990’s who carried the mantle over our traditional sporting arch rivals Wallidan.
Then came the generation of Buba Jallow alias Meles, Dimingo Manneh, Modou Njie Sarr, Baboucarr Savage and Baboucarr Trawally just to name but a few.
With them, the team won the GFA First Division League for the first time in five years in 2007] following an impressive 3-1 win over Young Africans in the final game of the season played at the KG5 Mini-Stadium in Banjul. From then on, it never looked back. Fast forward, last Thursday, the team landed its 15th title. Congratulations Real de Banjul.
