Coach Tom Saintfiet has named a 25-man squad for this month’s crucial CAN qualifiers against Angola in Banjul and DR Congo in Kinshaha. But again, the coach has to battle with public opinion as to why he did not select Ali Sowe, the player who has been scoring frequently for club. The coach is yet to give any public statement about his selection which also excluded Modou Barrow and Sheriff Sinyan who were highly expected to be among the pack. Also there have been strong and passionate objections among fans against the presence of players not active with any club.
Gambian football officials have said the selection of the players is entirely the domain of the coach. “There are many other issues involved in getting players for national team duties in this pandemic due to restrictions and a Fifa directive that tends to give the clubs more powers to decide whether they would release their players. The coach has to battle with all these so only him can explain his selection. Hopefully when he arrives on Monday he would make a comment on the selection,” a senior GFF official told The Standard.
