After the successful Wafu outing of The Gambia Under- 20, it is now the turn of the Under-17, the famous Baby Scorpions who landed the African title at this level twice, at home in 2005 and Algeria 2009.
This year, like the Under-20 have already done, the Baby Scorpions have to go through a tournament with eight other nations in the West African football Union Wafu Zone A, taking place in Thies, Senegal from Friday.
This tournament will serve as the entry to the Afcon Under- 17 finals, but only the top two finishers can book that ticket from Zone A, meaning The Gambia must win the Wafu Cup or become the runner- up in Thies.
According to Gambia Football Federation sources, the Baby Scorpions led by Coach Aboulie Bojang are expected to leave town by Wednesday for Thies. As required in this tournament by Caf, all players must under go an MRI test to determine their true age and of course the now mandatory Covid-19 test. The draw is expected to take place tomorrow, Tuesday.
The coach has his job cut out for him. Even before leaving he and his technical team which included Coach Omar Sise of the Under 23 squad, Bojang has been psychologically put under pressure to follow the path of the Under-20 by securing the Wafu Cup and progressing to Afcon. If he succeeds, The Gambia would be present at both age categories in Caf with a possibility of reaching the Fifa world cup at both levels. And even that had been achieved by both categories in the past one and a half decade.
