The 2008 Olympic games are now history; at least until 2012 in London. The Chinese have vindicated their decision to host the Olympic.

Indeed, there is a great lot that the rest of the world, especially the United Kingdom which is next on the queue as host, can learn from them. But the lessons to be deduced from the China experience go far beyond just learning how to host the Olympics.

The outcome of the events also portrays the strength of sports in unifying the human race - that idea of bringing together people of all races, from all four corners of the earth.

So many people hold on to the belief that sports is like a drug. They say that you get addicted to it, and that the consequence is that you do not want to go without it. But many other people believe it can be a unifying force, in addition to its numerous positive health implications. And its popularity and impact cut across the boundaries of age, geography, religion, gender, and so on and so forth.

It must be mentioned, furthermore, that with  the modern trend, the sporting domain owes its increasing popularity more to the game of football, which is arguably the single most popular sporting event in the world.

The point being put forward here can be deduced from the level of popularity of the European championship, especially on the African continent (although so little do the Europeans themselves know about this). The Indians, for instance, might have their thousand and one differences as a nation, but the game of cricket serves as a cushion for their internal relations.

American football, baseball, basketball and all those other games are to the Americans what cricket is to the Indians. With football, the Brazilians have shown the world what unity is all about. The same trend prevails in a host of other countries, The Gambia being no exception.

The recent sporting breakthroughs this country experienced, thanks to the then famous Under 17 giants, who later matured to the Under 20s, serve as impressive reminders of those days of harmonious interactions; the days we literarily forgot that we belonged to different tribes or religions; when we cheered our players as Gambians. Never in the history of this country had it experienced such a level of unanimity. All that was thanks to the effort of the APRC government, under the leadership of President Yahya Jammeh; a man who has, himself, identified with all the struggles that led to all these achievements.

 He does not only offer his material or financial support, but he also participates physically. All this is to demonstrate his true commitment to what he sees as an obligation to the Gambian people. This is a trend that we must press ahead with if we are to continue enjoying the atmosphere of peace and love we champion as a nation. Indeed, sports has proven to be one of the key ways of solutions to any differences in society.