The Scorpions Fans Club appeared to be unfazed by the decision of the Canadian embassy to reject 235 out of the 250 would-be Gambians fans and journalists to the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals starting in Canada this weekend, Observer Sports can reveal.

The Canadian embassy in Ghana has denied 235 applicants out of the 250 Gambians fans and journalists and Bai Cham, President of the Scorpions Fans Club said they have taken the setback in good faith.

“We receive the news with shock and grieve but we have to put it behind us and continue to support the team. We know it was the good intention of the President to airlift the fans to Canada just as he did on other occasions. But unfortunately it never materialised and we are grateful for his unprecedented support towards the fans club. We are still behind the President. We will not only stand by him but we will stand with him.” Cham who seemed disappointed than angry told Observer Sports.

He said: “We will meet on Sunday and see how we can all come together to watch Gambia’s matches during the tournament. We will not be with the team in Canada physically, but spiritually we will be with them.”

Cham said this is not the end the road for the fans club, adding: “They will continue to support the national teams during difficult and joyous moments”.
The benevolent Gambian leader, Dr Alhaji Yahya Jammeh, has earlier vowed to airlift over 250 Gambian fans to cheer up the Gambia U-20 team in the world’s second most prestigious football fiesta.

However, the Canadian embassy in Ghana, where the applications for the visas were sent, has rejected all but 15 applicants, a situation which resulted in the cancellation of His Excellency’s plan to airlift supporters to Canada.

The Canadian embassy’s decision to reject the fans and journalists was based on the fact that most of the applicants are very young and unmarried, hence their tendency of staying in Canada after the championship is high.

The strained news was received with shock and disbelief by the country’s football fraternity most of whom claimed the Canadian authorities acted wrongly and irresponsibly.