After staging the best-ever zonal football tournament this year, the Gambia Football Association, under the auspices of Seedy Kinteh, has heaped praises on the Gambian leader, Professor Dr Alhajie Yahya Jammeh, whose involvement in the event for the first time made the difference both on and off the pitch.

President Jammeh was the sole sponsor of the championship which has been renamed  Muhammed Yahya Jammeh Perpetual Zonal Cup with improved prizes. After a mouth-watering final that saw Bakau beat rivals Banjul to lift the coveted trophy amidst thousands of football enthusiasts, including the vice-president Dr Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy, the organizers - Gambia Football Association - were much convinced that  the annual event has taken a new dimension - thanks to the involvement of the sports-loving Gambian leader and the Chief Patron of all National Sports Associations.

“The Gambia Football Association under the leadership of Mr Seedy Buwa Kinteh wishes to commend the President, Professor Dr Alhajie Yahya Jammeh and the entire first family for sponsoring the 2008 Baby Muhammmed Jammeh’s Perpetual Cup competition, which was won by Bakau zone after a nail-biting final against Banjul,” a press release from the GFA secretariat revealed.

The release added: “The support you generously offered on behalf of Baby Muhammed Jammeh is a clear and significant indication of the importance you have attached to sports as a medium for community empowerment inclusion and cohesion as enshrined in the National Sports Policy.”

“The expert and generous assistance you have provided to the eight zones principally contributed to the resounding success of the tournament and I would like to express once more my sincere appreciation and profound gratitude to you Mr President, for your generosity and professionalism,”

“You service was excellent, very prompt, courteous and truly presidential,” the release, which was signed by GFA programme officer, Abdou Salaam Jammeh, concluded.