A
promise by the Gambia Football Federation [GFF] that was supposed to last for
months but took almost two years, was ultimately fulfilled as the GFF deliver
its promise to change the turf in Brikama and Banjul mini stadiums.
For
these footballing communities, this was long overdue and ultimately they smiled
as football is on the verge of returning home. The two communities have endured
the agony of playing home games away, a lack of "Nawettan" - Summer
Championship, and a complete loss of revenue which greatly hampered the growth
of the games in the area.
Now
that there is hope on the horizon, this can bring along relief not only for
Brikama and Banjul but for the many teams who can use the ground to play their
league games. And even the pickpocketers within Brikama will rejoice that
crowding will soon star at the popular arena, for them an opportunity to
practice their defacto profession. I had a personal experience with them, when
they stole my only D200 from my pocket around 2012 when Brikama play Esperance
Sportive De Tunis, I was nearly left stranded as that was supposed to be my
fare back home - laugh.
Indications
are there that the delay is now history as the scotching of the synthetic
artificial turf in both Brikama and Banjul nears completion, while the
expansion of dressing rooms and the stands and also the construction of
spectators' toilets are also ongoing.
BUT
WHAT HAS BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DELAY?
We
tried to independently find out from Bakary K. Jammeh the project manager of
the GFF but our efforts were futile. As per the information we received from
Sports Administrators from both Brikama and Banjul was a "lack of
funds".
Logically,
that's right. If the Federation has not mismanaged the funds for the projects
or diverted them to somewhere else, the story of these grounds would have been
different. Reports indicate that the money spent on the project is from the
AFCON bonuses recently given to the Gambia by CAF. Whatever the case, the
refurbishment of the two grounds is delayed but not denied.
