Breaking: Real De Banjul reject CAF Champions League place

Real De Banjul was founded in the 1966/67 season. Photo courtesy of Omar Jatta

Real De Banjul Football Club has announced it has rejected the GFF's offer to represent the Gambia at the next CAF Champions League competition, reports Omar Jatta

 In a letter addressed to the club's President Willy Abraham from the board of Banjul-based side, categorically stated the club 'will not accept the Federation's offer to represent The Gambia in the next CAF Champions League'.

"The Real De Banjul FC board has written to the Gambia Football Federation, not accepting their offer to represent the Gambia in next season’s CAF Champions League," the letter reads.

According the board their decision is driven by their responsibility to ensure the club's long-standing reputation as one of the oldest club's in the country is not 'tainted'.

"Real De Banjul FC is not only one of the oldest members of the GFF, but we have always played a cardinal role in the development of football in The Gambia by following the Laws and Rules of the game, invest in all aspects of football development and support the GFF to best of our ability at all times. The club does not want its reputation and those of its members to be unfairly tainted.

Strange as it may sound, the board's letter concludes by stating they feel Real, who were 6 points clear on top of the GFF League before the 2019/20 championship was declared null and void by the Gambia Football Federation last week amid the Coronavirus pandemic, should've been crowned champions before the annulment.

"We feel that the club should have been crowned champions when the season was abandoned, the letter concludes.

Since the announcement of the cancellation of the GFF League, tensions have been brewing in the background particularly on the decision to offer Real and GAF (Gambia Armed Forces) the positions to represent the country in the next continental championships. In fact the Brikama Sports Committee have already indicated they will challenge that decision as they feel Brikama United, who are the current reigning champions from the 2018/19 season should've been given the Champions League spot hence the decision not to award a league champion from the current season means they are still the reigning champions, while Real, who were the FF Cup winners can play in the Confederations Cup.

From information I was privy to, the BSC Chairman Victor Sambou has expressed their dissatisfaction with the GFF's decision to nullify the 2019/20 season based on the response they had from conversations in their Forum.

According Sambou, the Federation should have consulted stakeholders and present them with their decision before going public, thereby, those with concerns or not satisfied with that final decision could allay their own concerns in that regard to the governing body.

Prior making their decision the GFF sent a consultative document to all the football club presidents in the Divisional leagues and other stakeholders, where they have asked the various stakeholders to digest the set of proposals they had listed in the document and present their own observations regarding the progression of the leagues, which were suspended in March following the announcement of a state of public emergency in the Gambia by the government in its efforts to deal with the Coronavirus outbreak.

However, Sambou believes the Federation should have collected all the counter suggestions from the various shareholders, collate them and then share the collated document or information with the shareholders for a final consultation and to seek their approval. By doing that, he said, will allow more transparency and inclusivity and thereby the stakeholders can have the opportunity to challenge whatever they are not happy with. He clearly expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision and according to him their committee members have reached a consensus to challenge the GFF's decision.

With this in mind, it's not surprising to see Real come up with this decision and if I understand the content of the board's letter, their rational seemed to be driven by the dissatisfaction expressed by their fellow clubs regarding the GFF's decision.