A nation wide scouting of football players for the national teams has been a policy of The Gambia Football Association. The GFA has a strong belief that every youth has a right to the national colour.

It is in this respect that I was charged as vice-chairman of the technical committee along national team coach, Tarik Siagy and Babucarr Demba of the Coaches Association, to travel nationwide and look for youths with potential to join the Gambia Under 17 team.

The exercise started on December 19, and ended on December 30, 2007. During the period,, all the twelve zones under The Gambia Football Association played against each other and a total of 217 footballers were assessed.

We use the basic assessment criteria and other specifics, depending on position.

And these are:

• Technical (ability to play with both feet, passing, controlling, dribbling, shooting)

• Physical (strength, speed, endurance, mobility)

• Tactics (reading and understanding game situation, attacking and defensive play, creativity, etc)

• Coordination ( orientation, rhythm, reaction, etc)

• Mental (concentration, will-power, confidence, willingness to take risk, perseverance, etc)

• Scout skills (communication, behaviour, team spirit and personality)

After 17 days of exercise, I must confess that Gambians are endured with skills. There were many young players that have the potential to become great footballers but only if they are exposed to the right environment - training facilities, good coaches and competitive atmosphere.

At the end of the scouting spree, we came up with 58 players including 10 goalkeepers. Coach Tarik will draw a programme for the final screening.

For the purpose of long term strategic planning, it is necessary for the Football Association to consider forming two other junior teams - Under 13 and Under 15. By this, we can catch them young and ensure a smooth transition to the senior level using the bottom-up approach.