The national Scorpions will commence training on Monday 17th March 2008 in preparation for a test match with Mauritania set for the 26th of this month in Banjul.

In partnership with Africell, The Gambia Football Association will stage the international friendly with the Mauritania side. It will serve as a testing ground for some of Gambia’s players who were just discovered plying their trade in Europe and are invited home by the FA for the friendly encounter.

A number of locally based players will commence training at the Independence Stadium on Monday as part of preparation for the encounter.

The Gambia Scorpions, who have been pitted in Group 6 with Senegal, Liberia, and Algeria, will have their first taste of the World and African cup qualifiers on May 31st, 2008, when they travel to Monrovia in Liberia.

Mauritania, like The Gambia, are simply dreaming of a maiden qualification for both competitions.

Abdelaziz Kamara, is Mauritania’s highest-ranked overseas player, even though his side Chateauroux play in France’s second division.

He is instrumental to the future of the national team, currently led by local coach Birama Gueye, as are two other factors.

In the past years, Mauritanian football has suffered too many setbacks. Which was as a result of the lack of wins by the national side for numerous years. Despite these depressing statistics, serious attempts were made to turn the team into a competitive outfit. This paid dividends in the last African Cup of Nations Ghana 2008 qualifiers when they finished second in Group 2.

The side spent nearly two years without a competitive fixture after failing to make the group stages for the joint 2006 Nations Cup and World Cup qualifiers.