Anyone withan interest in the development of women’s sports in The Gambia will be very heartened by reading today’s sports pages. In those pages we read that Ms. Monika Staab, a FIFA female instructor from Germany, is currently in Banjul to instruct a one- week coaching course for female trainers at The Gambia Football Association Centre for excellence in Yundum slated for Friday June 6, 2008.

The training is organised by The Gambia Football Association in collaboration with FIFA, and will attract 25 participants who will be drawn from female league clubs around the country.

Ms. Staab arrived yesterday at the Banjul International Airport and has directed similar courses in Europe and Africa. This wealth of experience will be invaluable in promoting the role of women in sport here. As in every other aspect of life women must enjoy the same opportunity as men but there can be a tendency to favour men when it comes to sport. Indeed many people would view cricket as an almost exclusively male domain. For this reason we must praise The Gambia Cricket Association which will commence its women’s Cricket Academy this weekend at the July 22nd Square in Banjul.

All categories of female cricketers are expected to converged at the square every Saturday and will engage in training sessions which will also focus on bowling, batting techniques and how to make runs, all geared towards enhancing the promotion of the game.

Johnny Gomez, vice president of The Gambia Cricket Association, said this initiative is to ensure that there are well-structured women’s cricket teams and clubs.

He said, “if the women cricketers are ready and determined in the game, a female national team will be set up and will be registered into their first international ICC Cricket tournament in December 2008.”

While this is not a new idea, The Gambia Cricket Association over the years, has been staging a series of Cricket coaching clinics for girls in schools to develop the game at grassroots level, it is a very welcome one. This kind of exclusivity must be a common denominator in all our sports. Women and girls must enjoy access to all the training and development currently lavished on their male counterparts for their health, well being and happiness and for the health, well being and happiness of The Gambia as a whole.