The unjust decision by the Canadian embassy in Accra, Ghana, to reject 235 would- be-Gambian-fans and journalists to the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in Canada still remains fresh in the minds of the disappointed Gambian fans and the nation as a whole.

Majority of Gambians cannot still digest why their contingent were blatantly denied entry visa by the host country, while fellow African nations like Nigeria have had over 300 supporters issued visas.
When the strained news first hit the town, everybody pointed accuse fingers at the Canadian authorities for the unjust and inhuman act meted out on Gambians.

However, recent weeks saw a scaring revelation which revealed that The Gambian authorities (Department of State for Youth, Sports and Religious Affairs) also have a hand in the unforgettable setback.

A source close to the National Sports Council has revealed that improper procession of visa application process, late submission and the exclusion of the national football governing body (The Gambia Football Association) by the sports department are some of the likely reasons for the unforgettable setback.

“If all the applicants had travelled to Dakar and in time, the legible applicants would have been issued visas because the consular in Senegal, who insisted that they will not issue visa in absentia, requested for the applicants to appear in person after which the qualified ones would be issued. The coordinators defied the consular’s request by taken the passports to Accra, Ghana. Coincidentally, it was the same consular who oversees the Accra consulate hence the mass rejection,”

Unjust selection process

On the selection process, the source revealed that “lot of dubious acts were committed. The generous package from the benevolent Gambian leader, Dr Alhaji Yahya Jammeh, was specifically meant for the Gambian supporters but to the surprise of many, people whose professions and sports arena remain world apart got selected for one reason or another.”

“One Ousman Momodou Njie, a so called football analyst, Mohammed Ben Saidy Jarju, a translator, Momodou Sowe, a FIFA referee are among the few successful applicants who were all registered as journalists while the legally, professional sports journalists who were among the applicants and were duly accredited by the FIFA were rejected after their FIFA accreditation were allegedly detached from their application forms.”

Abdou MC Jallow, a businessman who was registered under the ticket of the Department of State for Youth, Sports and Religious Affairs, Fatou Touray and FIFA agent Kabba Ceesay were all issued entry visas after they were unjustly selected at the expense of diehard Gambian supporters and sports promoters