Real de Banjul Football Club has graduated twelve players who were camped at its Kerr Real headquarters as boarding students for a five-week pilot programme.
Last month, the club’s management initiated the programme to keep twelve young players at the Club House, as a different approach to developing young players.
The initiative that won praise and approval of football enthusiasts proved to be a resounding success. Three of the players from the camp accounted for a total of five goals in five out of Real de Banjul’s last six matches. The trio banged goals as follows: Baboucarr Touray 2; Alasana Badjie 2; and Abdurahman Badamosi 1.
Club President William Abraham said: “I want to thank the club technical director Pa Suwareh Faye and Coach Lamin Kijera who did a great job with the twelve players during the five-week long camp. I want to thank the players for their patience and discipline. I have never heard of any bad attitudes or wrongdoing from the camp, so it means we are achieving what we desire.”
Club vice president Pa Yusufa Samba commented: “Now that this camp has come to an end as first experiment, when you go home, try and emulate the good practices you’ve learned here. The coaches will be monitoring you”.
The legendary player and former coach Bye Malleh Wadda said: “I will just reiterate what I have been saying during the camp. It’s about taking football as career and preparing yourselves to do a job when you have the opportunity which is now. I think it’s well known locally and internationally that Real de Banjul is providing best facilities, best coaches and the best opportunities for Gambian players. This experiment is just one of them and all what we are doing is to make you people better. Take these opportunities like a baton and run with it or drop it, and that is the life of sports.”
