By Modou Lamin Beyai,
The Gambia’s National Sports Council (NSC) says it will not heed to a FIFA threat to ban the country if its decision to suspend the executive of the Gambia Football Federation (GFF) is not reversed by Monday.
The NSC made this statement through its chairman, Borri Darboe, at a press conference organized at the Independence Stadium on Friday afternoon.
Darboe says his Council’s decision to suspend and investigate officials of the GFF is irreversible and that if the world football governing body bans the country, then it is in the “best interest of all to clean the mess”.
He also accused the current GFF executive of tax evasion and said they are currently preparing a report to send to FIFA to support their decision of suspending the FF officials.
It now remains to be seen if FIFA will go ahead with their threat with a ban on Gambia meaning the country’s male and female national teams and clubs won’t take part in FIFA and CAF competitions, World Cup-bound referee Bakary Papa Gassama might be dropped plus officials also affected.
Below, we reproduced the full letter read to the press by the Council’s chairman:
Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press.
On behalf of the National Sports Council, I welcome you to this short briefing to provide with you an insight of the NSC’s position with regards to our action to suspend the current Executive of the Gambia Football Federation and FIFA’s response to this move.
We will like to inform you that we are in no way reluctant to engage with the suspended Executive as proposed by FIFA in their letter to the Council. However, we will not rescind our decision nor compromise the principles of good governance.
The Sports Council is not and will not compromise nor abandon the current principles of accountability and transparency. The Gambia will not allow any individual or group to flout the financial rules and regulations of this land without being dealt with impunity.
Ladies and gentlemen wherever and whenever the Sports council as the regulatory body identifies wrongdoing it is going to investigate it and then take the necessary legal steps if necessary to hold the individual or group responsible. FIFA does not preclude investigations but rather supports them. As a governing body, FIFA itself suspended its senior executives when they were being investigated.
To let you know just one serious case at hand right now. The NSC has investigated and confirmed with the Gambia Revenue Authority that there are sufficient evidences of GFF involvement in tax fraud.
GFF has to pay over One Million Dalasis (approximately $20,000) to GRA as penalty and tax liability. Again, our economy is tax based and cannot entertain tax fraud. You cannot willfully defraud the nation and escape by using a cover of FIFA and CAF. Citing an example of this misconduct to the press will be inappropriate at this point in time as investigations continue. But be assured that we do have such evidences in our possession and will be prepared to communicate it to FIFA.
Also let me make it clear that a full and detailed report will be compiled and forwarded to FIFA at the end of the investigations. We will also advise the press not to come to any hasty assumptions and comments but rather allow the investigation to continue in an atmosphere devoid of bias.
We will continue with the investigations and any developments will be communicated in the future. In the worst scenario it is better for the country to be suspended and we put our house in order than allow wrong doing to prevail and remain as we are without progress in our football development.
Ladies and gentlemen Senegal is currently No. 1 in Africa according to FIFA’s ranking. Why can’t we manage at least a respectable position in FIFA’s ranking? Currently The Gambia is 50th in the rankings only better than a few island states in Africa. The Gambia has changed forever and football must follow.
We have found ourselves in situations like this twice and the good principles of the nation prevailed at the end of the day. Thank you very much.
