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Gambia: Gambia U-20 in Camp..Leave Banjul Tomorrow

The Gambia U-20 team are currently camping at the Friendship hotel, Bakau, ahead of their trip to South Africa for a two-day training camp in continuation of their build-up towards the African Youth Championship slated to take place in January, this year.

The team will leave Banjul on Tuesday, to catch their flight to South Africa via Dakar.

The team that include prolific forward, Ousman Jallow, will travel with 18 players. While in South Africa, enroute to Congo, the Darling Scorpions are expected to have two friendly matches before jetting out to Congo for the championship proper which is scheduled to kick off from January 20 to February 4.

Earlier last week, a substantive amount of two-and-a-half million dalasis was raised to facilitate the team's trip to the second most-prized tournament in the African continent. This sum was raised by a special Task Force Committee that was set up by the SoS for Youth, Sports & Religious Affairs, Mr Sheikh Omar Faye.

SoS Faye commended the donors which include Elton, Gamtel, Gamcel, SSHFC, Naturalle Water, Slok Air, Access Bank and Africell, for their magnanimous gesture. "I am happy that we have finally gathered some money to take the team to Congo. We have already bought the tickets and the allowances will be paid on Monday," SoS Faye said.

Mr Ebou Joof, the Permanent Secretary, Department of State for Youth, Sports & Religious Affairs said the response to the fund-raising campaign was overwhelming, adding the the Task Force Committee was formed to complement government's efforts. "The Department of State for Youth & Sports cannot do it alone. Government cannot support sports That's why a task force was formed comprising of the Department for Youths & Sports and its sattelite institutions; notably the National Sports Council, the Gambia Football Association and another group that include Tombong Saidy and Bakary Jammeh," Joof said.