A Menace in Gambian Football???

Gambian Football has reached a level whereby many young talented players are emerging and surfacing in the limelight, an achievement attributable to the recent developments in its national teams especially in the youth categories.

The Gambia U-17 and U-20 categories are well known not only in the sub-region but in the outside world as well.

This has contributed to the rising demands of young Gambia players by foreign player agents, who now regard The Gambia as a good ground for scouting talented players.

The outstanding performances in the African U-17 Championship in 2005 and in the recent African Youth Championship held in Congo, have attracted thousands of foreign agents.
 
But despite all the good displays at continental and international levels, The Gambia is yet to boast of the signing-up of those outstanding players abroad despite interest shown by foreign agents.
 
What could be the problem associated with this?

Is it because our players do not appreciate those foreign agents or prefer not to be associated with so-called player agents, who would bring not only frustration to them but a waste of time and career in general.

Since the successful Cadet championship in Banjul in 2005, a greater number of players from the then U-17 and most recently the U-20 players have gone for trials in Norway, UK, France, and in some North African countries.

Very few have succeeded in putting pen on paper. Players like Joseph Gomez who was rated as the best goalie in the CAF Youth championship Congo 2007, and many others who were taken to the UK for trials, have returned to Banjul yielding nothing for their footballing career.

The continuous failure of the players to secure contracts can not be attributed to poor performance during the trials but could be clearly linked to unsatisfactory arrangements by so-called players’ agents.

How many of those players were successful in getting a club over there? Don’t you think there might be a problem in the way those trials are being arranged?

Because there is little achievement made in this venture, why don’t we encourage other foreign agents or Gambian FIFA Player Agents with the requisite experience in the field to also participate in these transactions for producing  better results.

To be professional players, time should be regarded as crucial. The onus lies on Gambian players to make clever decisions and move fast in order to strike better successes and attain higher levels in their careers.