Will the extension on State of Emergency end 2019/20 GFF Leagues?
West Coast Region outfit Brikama United are the current holders of the national league division one title
By: Omar Jatta
It is still a bit unclear what will be the next step for the Gambia's Divisional Football Leagues following the extension of the State of Emergency in the country for a further 21 days, which will end on June 8th.
All indications are the leagues as expected will be drawn to a close with no league winners, promotions or relegations this season, even though this is yet to be officially confirmed by the Gambia's Football Governing Body, the GFF.
However, they've already stated in their statement last week that any extension on the existing lockdown by the Gambia government will mean the leagues will be called off with no winners, relegation or promotions, and they've indicated the top two teams on the current First Division League standings will represent the country in the 2020/21 CAF competitions, which effectively will be Real De Banjul and GAF (Gambia Armed Forces).
"The Executive at its meeting held on Saturday, 9TH May 2020 took the following decisions if the current Public State of Emergency is extended to a further reasonable period of time:
a) The GFF Leagues, both male and female will be nullified, thus no champion will be declared. There will be no relegation or promotion across the board for both male and female leagues.
b) The current First and Second position holders in the First Division League will be accorded the opportunity to represent the country in the next CAF Inter-Clubs Competitions.
c) The 2020 Super Nawettan will be cancelled
Consequently, the GFF Football Calendar will be amended as follows:
d) Nawettans must be completed by the end of September, 2020;
e) The 2020/21 League Season will commence in October 2020.
The GFF President Lamin Kaba Bajo also indicated in an earlier interview with GRTS TV that the progress of the leagues will be wholly dependent on the State of Emergency, which he said if extended beyond the previous deadline, which was on Monday 17th May, the leagues will be cancelled. Adding this is something they had discussed with the club Chiefs during a consultation process lasting over three weeks, during which, most of the Chiefs have consented to their proposal and prospective decision.
With this in, some fans have also expressed their disappointment, and some have accused the Federation of rushing into cancelling the leagues especially now that the extension is only for 21 days. Implying they could have waited till after the 21 days and see if there are other possibilities.
But others including some club Chiefs, notably the President of team Rhino FC in the Second Division Mr Mustapha Jallow has agreed with the Federation's decision, citing that safety is the most important thing at this moment in time.
"Safety has to come first," Mr Jallow wrote while responding to suggestions the GFF could have waited a little longer and use similar strategies been tried in European leagues.
"The scenarios are different and the standard on how to control the covid virus are not comparable. Safety has to come first," he added.
Mr Jallow also dismissed suggestions, the players can be tested prior to the resumption of the leagues, where he cites the complexities in that process, which he believes may prove a bit of a challenge.
"I still believe that would be difficult considering the number of people involved in a game and also do we have enough facilities to deal with all the people involved on a match day.I don't think so.
And he added this early decision to cancel the league could in fact be a blessing in disguise for Gambian football by allowing the teams to prepare early for the next season.
"I believe this would only help us prepare better and early for next season it's sad because the biggest loosers to me are the second division table toppers and the third divisions teams."