Mr Momodou Sanneh, General Manager of OK Gambia Company Limited, yesterday presented a cheque for D500,000 to the Gambia Football Association (GFA) as part of the company’s contribution towards Operation Canada 2007 Campaign.

Presenting the cheque to the Secretary of State for Youth, Sports and Religious Affairs, Mr Sanneh said they are partners in development, adding that their initial plan was to airlift the team but after evaluating the situation, they found out that it was better to make a cash donation.

According to Mr Sanneh, his company was established one year ago with the priorities of engaging in the tourism sector and also create employment opportunities for Gambian youth.

“At the moment, the company has D50 million in the country and we felt it necessary for our profits to be ploughed back to sports development and other sectors,” he said.

He also revealed that apart from the cash donation, the company is printing 1,500 T-shirts valued at D200,000, which they will donate to the GFA for Operation Canada.

Speaking on the occasion, the second Vice-President of the GFA, Mass Axi Gai, said the donation was one of the biggest they had received.

He commended Mr Sanneh and OK Gambia for coming up with such a “magnificent” donation.

For his part, the Secretary of State for Youth, Sports and Religious Affairs, Sheikh Omar Faye, on behalf of the President, thanked OK Gambia for the donation and urged other companies to emulate the gesture.

In a similar development, Mr Ismaila Jallow and Mr Baboucarr Baldeh of the Carpenters’ Association of Albert Market presented an amount of D1,650 to the Secretary of State for Youth, Sports and Religious Affairs as part of their contribution towards Operation Canada.

In his response, Secy Faye thanked the donors for the kind gesture and called on other associations to follow suit.