Gambia national football team

The Gambia national football team,represents The Gambia in men's international football and is controlled by the Gambia Football Federation. Until 1965, the team and the country, were known as British Gambia. It has never qualified for the World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations finals. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Gambia women's national football team.

Gambia

Nickname(s)	The Scorpions
Association	Gambia Football Federation
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach	Tom Saintfiet
Captain	Pa Modou Jagne
Most caps	Pa Modou Jagne (32)
Top scorer	Assan Ceesay (6)
Home stadium	Independence Stadium
FIFA code	GAM
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	159 (16 July 2020)[1]
Highest	65 (June 2009)
Lowest	179 (March 2017)
First international
British Gambia 2–1 Sierra Leone (Gambia; 9 February 1953)
Biggest win
Gambia 6–0 Lesotho  (Banjul, Gambia; 12 October 2002)
Biggest defeat
Guinea 8–0 Gambia  (Guinea; 14 May 1972)

History

Under the name British Gambia, the team played their first ever game on 9 February 1953 against Sierra Leone, winning 2–1 at home in a friendly.[2] In April 1963, the team entered the L'Amitié tournament in Senegal, a competition mainly for French-speaking nations. They were drawn in a group with France's amateur team, the Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) and Gabon. Their first match was lost 5–1 to the French amateurs on 11 April. The Gambia drew 2–2 with the Upper Volta on 13 April, and had the same result the very next day versus Gabon. The Gambia did not advance to the next round.

After the tournament in Senegal, The Gambia did not play another match until 16 November 1968, when they travelled to Sierra Leone to play its team in a friendly and lost 2–1. They played again in Sierra Leone in The Gambia's next match on 24 April 1971, and the hosts won 3–1. On 2 May 1971, The Gambia travelled to Guinea for a friendly and lost 4–2. On 14 May 1972, The Gambia returned to Guinea for their first African Games qualifier and lost 8–0 and were knocked out.

In 1975, The Gambia entered its first qualification campaign for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Canada. They were drawn in a qualifier against Guinea, and lost the first leg 1–0 at home on 27 April 1975. The second leg was lost 6–0 in Guinea on 1 June as Guinea advanced 7–0 on aggregate.

In August 1975, The Gambia entered their first qualification for the African Cup of Nations, with the aim of reaching the 1976 finals in Ethiopia. They were drawn in a two-legged qualifier against Morocco and lost the first leg 3–0 away on 10 August. They lost by the same score in their home leg on 24 August and Morocco advanced 6–0 on aggregate.

After the qualification campaign for the 1976 finals, The Gambia played their first match against a full European side, losing a home friendly 4–1 to Denmark on 30 January 1977.[3]

In May 2014, The Gambia was banned from all CAF competitions for two years after deliberately falsifying players' ages.[4]

The nation's fortunes improved in qualification for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. Although they failed to qualify, they took it to the final round of games, including drawing twice with African giants Algeria.

On 13 November, in their first Group D match of 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, Gambia defeated Angola 1–3 in Luanda. This was The Scorpions first away win in an AFCON or FIFA World Cup qualifier ever, at their 40th attempt.

Home stadium

Football fans watching Gambia v Guinea

Independence Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Bakau, Gambia. It is currently used mostly for football matches, although it is also used for music concerts, political events, trade fairs and national celebrations. The stadium holds 30,000 people.[5]

Competitive record

Gambia Football Achievements

Amilcar Cabral Cup :

• 3 Times Runners-up

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record										FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1978	Did not enter									Did not enter
1982	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	2	1
1986										2	1	0	1	3	6
1990	Did not enter									Did not enter
1994	Withdrew									Withdrew
1998	Did not qualify									2	1	0	1	2	5
2002										2	0	0	2	0	3
2006										2	1	0	1	2	3
2010										6	2	3	1	6	3
2014										6	1	1	4	4	11
2018										2	0	1	1	2	3
2022										2	0	0	2	1	3
2026	To be determined									To be determined
Total	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		26	6	6	14	22	38

Africa Cup of Nations record

Africa Cup of Nations record
Host nation(s) / Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1957 to 1963	Part of United Kingdom
1965	Not affiliated to CAF
1968 to 1974	Did not enter
1976	Did not qualify
1978	Did not enter
1980 to 1988	Did not qualify
1990	Withdrew
1992	Did not qualify
1994	Did not enter
1996	Withdrew during qualifying
1998	Banned for withdrawing in 1996
2000	Withdrew
2002 to 2013	Did not qualify
2015	Banned
2017	Did not qualify
2019
2021	To be determined
2023
2025
Total	–	0/32	–	–	–	–	–	–

Recent schedule and results

The following is a list of match results from the previous 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss

2019

Guinea  v  Gambia

7 June 2019 Friendly	Guinea	0–1	Gambia	Marrakech, Morocco
			Sohna  ?'

Morocco  v  Gambia

12 June 2019 Friendly	Morocco	0–1	Gambia	Marrakech, Morocco
17:30 (UTC+1)		Report	Mu. Barrow  27'	Stadium: Stade de Marrakech Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Boubou Traore (Mali)

Gambia  v  Angola

6 September 2019 2022 FWCQ	Gambia	0–1	Angola	Bakau, Gambia
17:00 UTC±0		Report	Gaspar  31'	Stadium: Independence Stadium Referee: Quadri Adebimpe (Nigeria)

Angola  v  Gambia

10 September 2019 2022 FWCQ	Angola	2–1 (3–1 agg.)	Gambia	Luanda, Angola
16:00 UTC+1	Geraldo  41' Abreu  68'	Report	Ceesay  65'	Stadium: Estádio 11 de Novembro Referee: Jean-Marc Ganamandji (Central African Republic)

Ghana  v  Gambia

1 October 2019 (2019-10-01) 2019 WAFU	Ghana	1–0	Gambia	Thiès, Senegal
	Esso  66'			Stadium: Stade Lat-Dior

Mauritania  v  Gambia

4 October 2019 (2019-10-04) 2019 WAFU	Mauritania	0–0 (2–4 p)	Gambia	Thiès, Senegal
				Stadium: Stade Lat-Dior

Gambia  v  Cape Verde

8 October 2019 (2019-10-08) 2019 WAFU	Gambia	0–1	Cape Verde	Thiès, Senegal
			Norta  32'	Stadium: Stade Lat-Dior

Djibouti  v  Gambia

9 October 2019 2021 AFCONQ	Djibouti	1–1	Gambia	Djibouti City, Djibouti
19:00 UTC+3	Mbye  59' (o.g.)		Sanneh  90'	Stadium: El Hadj Hassan Gouled Aptidon Stadium Referee: Ibrahim Nour El Din (Egypt)

Gambia  v  Djibouti

13 October 2019 2021 AFCONQ	Gambia	1–1 (3–2 p)	Djibouti	Bakau, Gambia
16:00 UTC±0	Jallow  45+3'		Mahabeh  10' (pen.)	Stadium: Independence Stadium, Referee: Mahamadou Keita (Mali)
	Penalties
	Barrow Colley Ceesay Ngum Jallow

Angola  v  Gambia

13 November 2019 (2019-11-13) 2021 AFCONQ	Angola	1–3	Gambia	Luanda, Angola
20:00 UTC+1	Eduardo  3'		Ceesay  16', 17' Marreh  89'	Stadium: Estádio 11 de Novembro

Gambia  v  DR Congo

18 November 2019 (2019-11-18) 2021 AFCONQ	Gambia	2–2	DR Congo	Bakau, Gambia
16:00 UTC±0	Danso  52' Jobe  90+2'		Bakambu  45+3' Muleka  75'	Stadium: Independence Stadium

Coaching staff

In July 2018, former Togo and Zimbabwe coach Tom Saintfiet, was appointed as head coach. Saintfiet took over from former international Sang Ndong who is now technical director of the Gambia Football Federation (GFF) following the end of his contract in January.[6]

Head Coach	Tom Saintfiet
Technical Director	Sang Ndong
Assistant Coach	Mattar M'Boge
Goalkeeping Coach	Alhagie Marong
Team Doctor	Kalifa Manneh
Physiotherapist	Pa Matarr Ndow
Equipment Manager	Mustapha Kassama

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Angola and DR Congo on 13 and 18 November 2019.

• Caps and goals are correct as of: 18 November 2019, after the match against DR Congo

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Modou Jobe	(1988-10-27) 27 October 1988	26	0	El-Kanemi Warriors
	1GK	Baboucarr Gaye	(1998-02-24) 24 February 1998	0	0	Arminia Bielefeld
22	1GK	Sheikh Sibi	(1997-08-08) 8 August 1997	0	0	Virtus Verona
13	2DF	Pa Modou Jagne (C)	(1989-12-26) 26 December 1989	32	2	Zürich
3	2DF	Bubacarr Sanneh	(1994-11-14) 14 November 1994	19	1	Oostende
5	2DF	Omar Colley	(1992-10-24) October 24, 1992	18	0	Sampdoria
2	2DF	Sulayman Bojang	(1997-09-03) 3 September 1997	4	0	Sarpsborg 08
16	2DF	Mohammed Mbye	(1989-06-18) 18 June 1989	4	0	Free Agent
	2DF	Alieu Jatta	(1995-09-18) 18 September 1995	2	0	Casa Sports
	2DF	Ngine Njie	(1995-02-12) 12 February 1995	1	0	Casa Sports
15	3MF	Ebrima Sohna	(1988-12-14) 14 December 1988	30	2	Keşla
	3MF	Sulayman Marreh	(1996-01-15) 15 January 1996	17	1	Gent
	3MF	Hamza Barry	(1994-10-15) 15 October 1994	15	0	Hajduk Split
4	3MF	Dawda Ngum	(1990-09-02) 2 September 1990	11	0	Brønshøj
19	3MF	Ebrima Colley	(2000-02-01) 1 February 2000	7	0	Atalanta
	3MF	Ablie Jallow	(1998-11-14) 14 November 1998	6	2	Ajaccio
20	3MF	Sheriff Sinyan	(1996-07-19) 19 July 1996	4	0	Molde
	3MF	Alasana Manneh	(1998-04-08) 8 April 1998	2	0	Górnik Zabrze
9	4FW	Assan Ceesay	(1994-03-17) 17 March 1994	15	6	VfL Osnabrück
7	4FW	Lamin Jallow	(1994-07-22) 22 July 1994	14	1	Salernitana
	4FW	Modou Barrow	(1992-10-03) 3 October 1992	10	1	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
10	4FW	Musa Barrow	(1998-11-14) 14 November 1998	7	1	Bologna
	4FW	Bubacarr Trawally	(1994-11-10) 10 November 1994	7	0	Ajman
11	4FW	Yusupha Njie	(1994-01-03) 3 January 1994	2	0	Boavista
17	4FW	Bubacarr Jobe	(1994-11-21) 21 November 1994	9	2	Mjällby

Recent call ups

Following players have been selected in last months

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Alagie Nyabally	(1991-11-15) 15 November 1991	7	0	Real Banjul	vs.  Angola, 10 September 2019
DF	Saidy Janko	(1995-10-22) 22 October 1995	0	0	Young Boys	vs.  Angola, 13 November 2019^PRE
DF	Mamadou Danso	(1983-04-27) 27 April 1983	16	2	Portland Timbers 2	vs.  Angola, 10 September 2019
DF	Simon Richter	(1985-01-16) 16 January 1985	7	0	Brønshøj	vs.  Angola, 10 September 2019
DF	Ibou Touray	(1994-12-24) 24 December 1994	4	0	Salford City	vs.  Angola, 10 September 2019
MF	Bun Sanneh	(1999-04-04) 4 April 1999	0	0	Génération Foot	vs.  Angola, 10 September 2019
MF	Ebou Adams	(1996-01-15) 15 January 1996	6	0	Forest Green Rovers	vs.  Angola, 10 September 2019
FW	Ali Sowe	(1994-06-14) 14 June 1994	6	0	CSKA Sofia	vs.  Angola, 13 November 2019^PRE
FW	Adama Jammeh (footballer)	(2000-08-26) 26 August 2000	4	0	Étoile Sportive du Sahel	vs.  Angola, 13 November 2019^PRE
FW	Bakery Jatta	(1998-06-06) 6 June 1998	0	0	Hamburger SV	vs.  Angola, 13 November 2019^PRE
FW	Musa Juwara	(2001-12-26) 26 December 2001	0	0	Bologna	vs.  Angola, 13 November 2019^PRE
FW	Kalifa Manneh	(1998-09-02) 2 September 1998	0	0	Catania	vs.  Angola, 13 November 2019^PRE
FW	Muhammed Badamosi	(1998-12-27) 27 December 1998	1	0	FUS Rabat	vs.  Angola, 10 September 2019
FW	Nuha Marong	(1993-06-16) 16 June 1993	1	0	Racing Santander	vs.  Angola, 6 September 2019 ^PRE

References

1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
2. "World Football Elo Ratings: Gambia". World Football Elo Rankings. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
3. "Gambia – List of International Matches". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
4. "The Gambia disqualified from all Caf competitions". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2013-08-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. "Tom Saintfiet named new Gambia coach". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.

External links

• GFF Official federation website