After four weeks trial with Porthsmouth football academy in UK the two Gambian duo, Edrissa Jarra of Real De Banjul and Alagie Bun Gaye of GPA returned to Banjul on Tuesday November 13, 2007.

But a mere mistake might cost the lads a great deal with Portsmouth football academy. This was revealed in an interview with the main man behind the players’ successful trials in UK, Mr Kabba Ceesay, who said the progress report in Week One at the Academy indicated that Bun Gaye was doing far better than Edrissa Jarra.

He said “based on the report, I made my assessment of the issue and told the guys at the academy that Edrissa Jarra was fasting and therefore he might lose his physical strength which would affect his work rate and could eventually render him ineffective.”

Kabba said he received an email from Kingsley, his partner in the UK informing him that both players are doing well but Jarra’s technique was described as not being smooth.

Mr Ceesay said despite this achievement by the players in Portsmouth on November 3, the boys made what looked like a grave error when they attempted to leave their home in Portsmouth for London for weekends through a friend without informing the authorities of the Academy. This outing left an angry staff at the academy.

“Unfortunately,” I was informed by my partner Kingsley, “I intervened immediately to stop them from going,” he noted.

“They called my attention to take urgent action otherwise they will have nothing to do with Gambian footballers”, he narrated.

But Kabba noted that despite stopping them not to go, they ended up going to London on the 10th November and were just outside London where they took a taxi to the airport for Banjul.

He concluded that his relationship with the academy was almost damaged, but he thinks he could persuade them to sign the boys since they had shown great interest in them.

He said after the trials the academy was already in the process of taking them to a school.

He thanked Real de Banjul football club for their assistance and for facilitating the trip of Edrissa Jarra to the UK adding that clubs should start taking the responsibility of footing the bill for their players while going to trials.