Nothing is more reassuring than to be far away from home and hear good news about your country.

You tend to jump to the sky, take the next available flight, come back and join the wild celebrations in the streets of Tabokotto or Fagikunda, but unfortunately that is an illusion. News that The Gambia under-17 team trounced Algeria on Thursday evening made me once more proud of The Gambia. Though thousands of kilometers away from the action, advance in technology made it easier for many people to stay in touch with what was unfolding in Algiers, but for me it was more than just facebook, twitter, or yahoo messenger. The fact I could not watch any of their games on television made me jittery but my colleague, Baboucarr Senghore on the other side sent me text messages about what was unfolding at the stadium. The boys were determined and judging by the deafening sound of the crowd,  I did not know how Babs and I managed to talk on the phone. “The Gambia has scored two goals with twenty minutes gone in the first half....” Yea, I shouted to Pierre Sylva who was also eagerly waiting for me to share with him the news update from my exchange with Baboucarr Senghore in Algiers.

Throughout the night, my mind hovered on the scenes that took place at the Independence Stadium in Bakau when The Gambia sent Ghana packing and went ahead to lift the first ever Africa Under-17 championship trophy almost four years ago. May 2005 also brought to mind how a nation can be galvanized by sports, to be more precise footbal; on that memorable evening I saw young boys and girls chanting ‘Cha Kanam’Cha Kanam’ meaning ‘Forward Gambia.’  On the same evening, from my vantage position, I saw President Jammeh entered the stadium shortly before the match and suddenly like a volcano the whole stadium erupted, shouting “Jammeh, Jammeh, Jammeh!” And the man himself, waving before thousands of spectators who were glued to their seats had to turn three times with his motorcade before he finally take his seat. On that day, there was nothing like APRC, UDP, NADD or NRP colors; it was The Gambian flag that was flying and the spectators some of whom traveled as far as Basse and Koina to join their country men in the celebrations.

When President Jammeh finally lifted the trophy and posed for the cameras, thousands of Gambians wanted to be part of that picture, at least it was an opportunity that many people would not want to miss. Nevertheless, what was significant was that those who came to cheer the boys were not disappointed as the Ghanaians went home wondering what had hit them.

That The Gambia has come this far in youth football did not come as a surprise to some people who were closely monitoring what happened in recent times. Over the years, the naweetan tournaments held across so many parts of the country have contributed significantly to the growth and development of Gambian football. Indee, these small boys who eagerly watch Becks, Rooney, or Drogba play during the premiership want to translate their dreams into reality. They too want to play like their idols or even better so that they can also be counted during their era, as football legends like Biri Biri or Maradona.

In my interactions with some of our West African neighbours, a lot of them told me they have attempted to look into the problem but they could not understand why The Gambian youth team excels in youth football, for them it is still an illusion. But I always tell them that things were meant to be that way, on the other hand, I told them the Gambian senior teams have made frantic efforts; they have never qualified for any major or serious championship like Cup of Nations or World Cup. Tthe closest so far was in October 2008 when The Gambia held Senegal and picked nine points.

Coach Pa Suwareh should be commended for taking the Gambia Under -17 team to Mbabane in Swaziland in the 2003 African Championship, that berth in which Mustapha Jarjue featured gave hope to the current crop of young players who saw the mistakes their predecessors made after narrowly losing to Cameroon. The Gambia Football Association also did well to hire veteran coach Osam Duodu, who did not only succeed in lifting the continental trophy but went ahead and guided his boys to beat Brazil in the Peru 2005 Under-17 World Cup championship.

The likes of Peter Bornu Johnson also did magic when he took over the former Under-17, who have now been transformed into the Under-20. The team went to Congo Brazzaville and performed credibly well. Next was Canada, there too, the team continued to play well beating the likes of Portugal and New Zealand until Austria sent them packing. However, it was not the end of the road as The Gambian team continues to dream and dream.

The other day I was watching news on RussiaToday and discovered Liechtenstein, a landlocked alpine microstate in Western Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and by Austria to the east.  With a population of a little over thirty–three thousand people (according to the 2000 census), Liechtenstein is determined to make a mark in football and represent the country in South Africa next year. In the count down to their world cup qualifying match with Russia, the Liechtenstein coach was optimistic about the prospects of his side qualifying to South Africa. Even though, they lost their game to Russia, it may be too early to say that the die has been cast – there are more games ahead.

 Like Liechtenstein, The Gambia is also a micro state with ambitious ideas and a nation capable of springing surprises at any time. One might be tempted to ask why I’m drawing Liechtenstein into an article which touches on the development of Gambian sports; here are some of the reasons.

Like The Gambia, Liechtenstein has limited natural resources, yet it has managed to put up a football team for every major championship. The country’s national team has traditionally been regarded as an easy target for any team drawn against them, a fact that served as the basis for a book about Liechtenstein's unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup by British author, Charlie Connelly.

In one surprising week, during autumn 2004, however, the team managed a 2–2 draw with Portugal which only a few months earlier had been the losing finalists in the European championship. Four days later, the Liechtenstein team traveled to Luxembourg where they defeated  the host team 4-0 in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match.  Another commonality between Liechtenstein and The Gambia is that both nations are still considered by many to be an easier touch than most. However, they have been steadily improving over the last few years, and are now considered the best of the "minnows".

The road to Abuja
Now that The Gambian team have finally touched down at the Banjul International Airport and the celebrations in the streets have died down, the road to Nigeria for the Under-17 championship should be carefully designed. .Suffice it to say that a lot of preparations are needed if The Gambia wants to defend its title and go ahead  to  win the World Cup in Abuja. One point that should be noted: others are preparing and learning from their mistakes; how is The Gambian team going to defend its title?

The author is a Senior Producer at GRTS, currently in New Delhi on a development Journalism programme at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. You can read this article on his site: www.ebrimagambia.blogspo