The Gambia Government, through the Department of State for Youth and Sports, on Friday, March 11, signed two Italian coaches for the national under 20 team, at a ceremony held at the Independence Stadium in Bakau.

On behalf of the Gambia Government, Mambanyick Njie, Permanent Secretary at the Department of State for Youth and Sport, penned his signature on the two-year contract document. The signing ceremony was graced by Major General Lang Tombong Tamba, Chief of Defence Staff of the Gambia Armed Forces, who doubles as the first vice-president of the Gambia Football Association.

The Italian duo, who officially signed for a two-year contract, are respectively Lorenzo Rubinacci, as the head coach, and Franco Crescentini, tasked with the responsibility of training goal keepers and the whole team. The engagement of the two professional coaches embraces President Jammeh’s initiative to boost Gambian football.

Speaking at the ceremony, PS Mambanyick Njie lauded the Gambian leader for his personal and timely intervention which is in line with the needs and aspirations of the Gambia Football Association and the entire Gambian people.

 According to him, the acquisition of these two coaches was made possible after the president of the Republic realised lapses at the technical department of the GFA, which called for reinforcement.

‘‘ It is in this bid that the president created a fund for  acquiring of the two coaches as to strengthen the technical department of the GFA. The arrangement was also made possible through the support of the Gambia’s Counsellor General in Italy, who have been very instrumental in searching for this high calibre coaches’’, he said.

PS Njie believes that the signing of these two coaches marks another dispensation in the country’s most popular game. He noted that his department of state, together with the GFA, would give their full support to the coaches.

‘‘ We want to assure you that our Department of State will live-up to expectations vis-‡-vis all the agreements entailed in the two-year document contract, and we will do everything possible to make your stay in this country a very memorable one,’’ he told the coaches.

For his part, Major General Lang Tombong Tamba, Chief of Defence Staff of the Gambia Armed Forces, described the move as a memorable development in the annals of the country’s football governing body.

Major General Tamba said that although the Gambia has made tremendous strides in the area of football, it has realised that GFA lacked qualified technical coaches who can better handle our national teams.

This, he said, was what prompted the Gambia Government, under the leadership of President Jammeh, to address this recurrent issue.

Major General Tamba seized the opportunity to express GFA’s gratitude to President Jammeh and the Department of State for Youth and Sports. He then assured the coaches of the FA’s fullest support in making their stay a success.

Speaking earlier, Lorenzo Rubinacci, the new head coach of the national under 20 team, expressed their readiness to steer up Gambian football to higher heights.

In a similar vein, Franco Crescentini, goalkeeper coach and trainer, expressed their readiness to face the challenges. He made it clear that his ambition would be to recruit a Gambian goalkeeper, playing in the local league.