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. The team has never qualified for the World Cup. In 2021, Gambia qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals for the first time in history. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).
| Nickname(s) | The Scorpions |
|---|---|
| Association | Gambia Football Federation (GFF) |
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) |
| Sub-confederation | WAFU (West Africa) |
| Head coach | Tom Saintfiet |
| Captain | Omar Colley |
| Most caps | Omar Colley (44) |
| Top scorer | Assan Ceesay (13) |
| Home stadium | Independence Stadium |
| FIFA code | GAM |
| FIFA ranking | |
| Current | 120 6 (6 April 2023)[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 (Bakau, Gambia; 13 October 2002) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
| Guinea 8–0 Gambia (Guinea; 14 May 1972) | |
| Africa Cup of Nations | |
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2021) |
| Best result | Quarter-finals (2021) |
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.[3] 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 of that same year, 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.[4]
On 12 October 2002, the team got their biggest ever victory in international competition, a 6–0 victory against Lesotho. [5]
In May 2014, the Gambia was banned from all CAF competitions for two years after deliberately falsifying players' ages.[6]
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. An impressive campaign saw them qualify for their first ever major tournament that year. As the lowest-ranked team in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the Gambia defied the odds by defeating favourites Tunisia in the group stage, finishing unbeaten in 2nd place in the group. A further win against Guinea in the Round of 16 saw them reach the quarter-finals at their first attempt, eventually going out to tournament hosts Cameroon.
Home stadium
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.[7]
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
2022
| 29 May Friendly | United Arab Emirates | 1–1 | Gambia | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Report |
| Stadium: Zabeel Stadium Referee: Omar Al-Yaqoubi (Oman) |
| 4 June 2023 AFCON qualification | Gambia | 1–0 | South Sudan | Thiès, Senegal |
| 16:00 UTC±0 | A. Jallow 45+4' | Report | Stadium: Stade Lat-Dior Referee: Jean Ouattara (Burkina Faso) |
| 8 June 2023 AFCON qualification | Congo | 1–0 | Gambia | Brazzaville, Congo |
| 17:00 UTC+1 |
| Report | Stadium: Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat Referee: André Kolissala (Central African Republic) |
| 20 November Friendly | Guinea-Bissau | 0–0 | Gambia | Antalya, Türkiye |
| 15:00 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: Ekodizayn Spor Kompleksi Referee: Melis Özçiğdem (Türkiye) |
2023
| 24 March 2023 AFCON qualification | Mali | 2–0 | Gambia | Bamako, Mali |
| 19:00 UTC±0 |
| Report | Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars Referee: Jean Ouattara (Burkina Faso) |
| 28 March 2023 AFCON qualification | Gambia | 1–0 | Mali | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 16:00 UTC±0 |
| Report | Stadium: Stade Mohamed V Referee: Kouassi Attisso Attiogbe (Togo) |
| September 2023 AFCON qualification | Gambia | v | Congo |
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.[8]
| Head coach | Tom Saintfiet |
| Team Manager | Ousman Drammeh |
| Assistant coach | Alagie Sarr |
| Physical Coach | Daniele Caleca |
| Goalkeeper coach | Alhagie Marong |
| Goalkeeper coach | Jo Stock |
| Team Doctor | Pa Landing |
| Physiotherapist | Tom Mertens |
| Physiotherapist | Joppe Vermeulen |
| Equipment Manager | Mustapha Kassama |
| Technical Assistant | Robby Echelmeyer |
| Video analyst | Jani Sarajärvi |
| International Scout | Alessandro Soli |
Coaching history
- Hans Heiniger (1987–1992)
- Sang Ndong (1994–2003)
- Antoine Hey (2006–2007)
- José Martínez (2007–2008)
- Paul Put (2008–2011)
- Peter Bonu Johnson (2011–2012)
- Luciano Mancini (2012–2013)
- Peter Bonu Johnson (2013–2015)
- Raoul Savoy (2015)
- Sang Ndong (2016–2018)
- Tom Saintfiet (2018–present)
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the 2023 AFCON qualification matches against Mali on 24 and 28 March 2023.[9]
Caps and goals correct as of 28 March 2023, after the second match against Mali.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Modou Jobe | 27 October 1988 | 29 | 0 | Black Leopards | |
| GK | Baboucarr Gaye | 24 February 1998 | 16 | 0 | Lokomotiv Sofia | |
| GK | Lamin Sarr | 11 March 2001 | 0 | 0 | Umeå | |
| DF | Omar Colley | 24 October 1992 | 44 | 1 | Beşiktaş | |
| DF | Bubacarr Sanneh | 14 November 1994 | 36 | 1 | Free agent | |
| DF | Dawda Ngum | 2 September 1990 | 20 | 0 | Ariana | |
| DF | Ibou Touray | 24 December 1994 | 19 | 0 | Salford City | |
| DF | Noah Sonko Sundberg | 6 June 1996 | 14 | 0 | Levski Sofia | |
| DF | Saidy Janko | 22 October 1995 | 7 | 0 | VfL Bochum | |
| DF | Muhammed Sanneh | 19 February 2000 | 7 | 0 | Baník Ostrava | |
| DF | Ismaila Jome | 4 November 1994 | 1 | 0 | Free agent | |
| DF | Marian Sarr | 30 January 1995 | 0 | 0 | Union Titus Pétange | |
| MF | Ablie Jallow | 14 November 1998 | 26 | 6 | Metz | |
| MF | Hamza Barry | 3 May 1994 | 20 | 0 | Vejle | |
| MF | Alasana Manneh | 8 April 1998 | 8 | 0 | OB | |
| MF | Sainey Njie | 30 August 2001 | 5 | 0 | Zemplín Michalovce | |
| MF | Alfusainey Jatta | 5 August 1999 | 0 | 0 | RFS | |
| FW | Assan Ceesay | 17 March 1994 | 34 | 13 | Lecce | |
| FW | Musa Barrow | 14 November 1998 | 31 | 5 | Bologna | |
| FW | Ebrima Colley | 1 February 2000 | 18 | 0 | Fatih Karagümrük | |
| FW | Muhammed Badamosi | 27 December 1998 | 15 | 1 | Čukarički | |
| FW | Abdoulie Sanyang | 8 May 1999 | 10 | 0 | Grenoble | |
| FW | Ali Sowe | 14 June 1994 | 9 | 0 | MKE Ankaragücü | |
| FW | Yusupha Njie | 3 January 1994 | 6 | 0 | Boavista | |
| FW | Alieu Fadera | 3 November 2001 | 2 | 0 | Zulte Waregem | |
Recent call ups
The following players have also been called up to the Gambia squad within the last twelve months.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Ebrima Jarju | 16 March 1998 | 0 | 0 | Paide Linnameeskond | v. Guinea-Bissau; 20 November 2022 |
| DF | James Gomez | 14 November 2001 | 13 | 1 | Horsens | v. Guinea-Bissau; 20 November 2022 |
| DF | Maudo Jarjué | 30 September 1997 | 2 | 0 | Elfsborg | v. Guinea-Bissau; 20 November 2022 |
| MF | Sulayman Bojang | 3 September 1997 | 8 | 0 | Skeid | v. Guinea-Bissau; 20 November 2022 |
| MF | Jesper Ceesay | 20 October 2001 | 0 | 0 | AIK | v. Guinea-Bissau; 20 November 2022 |
| MF | Sulayman Marreh | 15 January 1996 | 34 | 1 | Gent | v. Guinea-Bissau; 20 November 2022 |
| MF | Saikou Touray | 6 June 2000 | 0 | 0 | Grenoble | v. Guinea-Bissau; 20 November 2022 |
| MF | Yusupha Bobb | 22 June 1996 | 19 | 0 | Free agent | v. Congo, 8 June 2022 |
| MF | Ebrima Darboe | 6 June 2001 | 13 | 0 | Roma | v. Congo, 8 June 2022 |
| MF | Matarr Ceesay | 19 January 2000 | 2 | 0 | AmaZulu | v. Congo, 8 June 2022 |
| FW | Lamin Jallow | 22 July 1994 | 19 | 1 | Ankara Keçiörengücü | v. Guinea-Bissau; 20 November 2022 |
| FW | Yankuba Minteh | 22 July 2004 | 0 | 0 | OB | v. Guinea-Bissau; 20 November 2022 |
| FW | Bubacarr Jobe | 21 November 1994 | 17 | 3 | Oskarshamns | v. Congo, 8 June 2022 |
| FW | Dembo Darboe | 17 August 1998 | 5 | 0 | Astana | v. Congo, 8 June 2022 |
| FW | Kalifa Manneh | 2 September 1998 | 2 | 0 | Perugia | v. Congo, 8 June 2022 |
WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue. | ||||||
Records
- As of 20 November 2022[10]
- Players in bold are still active with Gambia.
Most appearances
| Top goalscorer
|
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
| 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 | Part of United Kingdom | Part of United Kingdom | |||||||||||||
| 1934 | |||||||||||||||
| 1938 | |||||||||||||||
| 1950 | |||||||||||||||
| 1954 | |||||||||||||||
| 1958 | |||||||||||||||
| 1962 | |||||||||||||||
| 1966 | |||||||||||||||
| 1970 | did not enter | did not enter | |||||||||||||
| 1974 | |||||||||||||||
| 1978 | |||||||||||||||
| 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 | – | 0/22 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 22 | 38 | |
Africa Cup of Nations
| Africa Cup of Nations record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 2023 | TBD | |||||||
| 2025 | ||||||||
| Total | Quarter-finals | 1/33 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
Honours
- Amilcar Cabral Cup :
- Runners-up (3)
References
- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
- ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ "World Football Elo Ratings: Gambia". World Football Elo Rankings. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Gambia – List of International Matches". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ "Gambia v Lesotho, 13 October 2002". 11v11.com.
- ^ "The Gambia disqualified from all Caf competitions". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ "Tom Saintfiet named new Gambia coach". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ "Tom Saintfiet today released his final 25-man squad". Instagram. GFF Official.
- ^ "Gambia". National Football Teams.
External links
- Official website of the Gambian Football Federation