Football in The Gambia. Photo by {link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/25629431@N02/2857084847/}Juffies Ltd{/link}

I think I would file this under: things I must do next time I’m in The Gambia. Of course you see football tops everywhere – Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea, even the odd Liverpool one for those not in the know, but there is a massive amount of interest in local and national football in The Gambia and they take it very, very seriously. I can remember driving through Serrekunda one dusty afternoon and passing the football stadium – there was a local game on and the place was heaving. The stands were a awash with colour and full of dense noise. In the heat it was almost like an hallucination.

My companion that day told me that the very next weekend there was a huge match in the offing between two of the big local teams: Steve Biko FC and the Banjul Hawks. It was going to be huge, a grudge match to see who would go to the top of the league. I vowed to go back, but events piled up and I didn’t make it. Next time, next time…

Since then I’ve followed how the national team get on. One relatively recent victory – the U17s beating the world champions Brazil 3-1 – has entered into folklore, spoken of in hushed tones, but the real goal of goals is to qualify for the African Cup of Nations in 2010 and even the World Cup, something that as yet has eluded them. Even now, despite some good recent results (they held Senegal, their great rivals, whom they always seem to get in their group, to a 0-0 draw) it seems they wont qualify this time. When you look at the make-up of the squad and the fact that nearly everyone at some point joins a European team (Edrissa Sonko is with our very own Tranmere Rovers and banging in goals for fun…), it’s obvious that the quality is there. It must be incredibly frustrating to know that with a slightly bigger pool of players and a larger budget they might just make it through but for now…

Gambia beach football. Photo by {link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/raw_herring/sets/72157603747106132/}Raw Herring{/link}

Lastly, you can’t have failed to notice the genius of the footballers on the beach in The Gambia. Well, Raw Herring has a fabulous photo stream with some dazzling photographs of the Bakau boys in action. These are well worth a look.

Does anyone have any Gambia football stories of their own they’d like to share? If so then do please leave a comment or get in touch via the usual address.