The Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) is preparing the grounds to host a regional football and wrestling championship. The mouth-watery tournament that will be organised by the West African Liaison Office (WALO) is scheduled to take place on March 30 to April 10, 2007, with eight countries taking part.

Speaking to Observer Sports, Public Relations Officer, Gambia Armed Forces, Lieutenant Alhagi Sanneh said the tournament will feature two major events-football and wrestling competitions, adding that the football competition will be sponsored by President Amadou Tumani Touray of Mali, while the wrestling competition will solely be sponsored by Dr Alhagi Yahya Jammeh, the President of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of The Gambia Armed Forces.

Lt Sanneh said The Gambia will be hosting the highly-rated tourney for the first time and urged the general public to come and support. “This is the 34th edition of the WALO Championship and we are hosting it for the first time. The tournament is for all the African countries, except Mauritania who pulled out. But not all the countries necessarily participate. For this year, we are expecting seven countries-Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo and the host, Gambia”, he said.

The West African Lipson Office (WALO) is the liaison office for the International Committee for Military Sports in Africa.