On 25 March 2021, The Gambia inked their name in the history books of African football when they became the 44th nation and the last from West Africa to qualify for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations.
The Gambia also known as “the smiling coast of Africa” confirmed their place at the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021 following a 1-0 victory over Angola in the penultimate round of qualifying.
FC Zurich forward Assan Ceesay was the Scorpions’ hero scoring the all-important winner against the Palancas Negras at Bakau’s Independence Stadium to book a place at the delayed showpiece event.
Tom Saintfiet’s team had to start from the preliminary round of qualifying as they were among the lowest ranked teams in the continent.
The West Africans were pitted against Djibouti to battle for a place in the qualifiers proper. The Scorpions had to dig deep to make it through as they needed penalties to thriumph over Julien Mette’s resilient side after a 2-2 aggregate draw.
Veteran goalkeeper Modou Jobe was the hero of the match saving two penalties as the Scorpions sail through the qualification proper joining African football heavyweights DR Congo, Gabon and FIFA World Cup, Germany 2006 finalists Angola.
“It was a very difficult match for us,” goalkeeper Modou Jobe told CAFOnline.com “We were playing for the first time in many years as the favorites and that put the team under a lot of because everyone expected us to win.”
The former Real de Banjul captain was the hero of the tie as his brilliant saves denied Djibouti a memorable victory in Djibouti City before he stopped two spot kicks to win the tie in Bakau.
Saintfiet charges had a though draw on paper as they were drawn against three much more highly rated teams Gabon, Angola and DR Congo.
The venomous Scorpions opened their Group D account with a come from behind 3-1 away success against Angola’s Palancas Negras in Luanda in November 2019.
A first half brace from talisman Assan Ceesay and a rare Sulayman Marreh strike secured The Gambia’s first ever away victory in either a FIFA World Cup or AFCON qualifying match.
Boosted by their historic away victory in Luanda Saintfiet’s team produced another heroics performance to hold DR Congo to a 2-2 stalemate courtesy of a last gasp equaliser by diminutive forward Baboucarr Jobe.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of Match Day 5 and 6 which were originally scheduled for March 2020 to November of the same year.
The Panthers of Gabon survived a late scare to beat The Gambia 2-1 in Franceville with goals from Bouanga and skipper Pierre Emeric Aubameyang condemning Baboucarr Jobe’s late strike to a consolation.
The Scorpions rediscovered their mojo in the reverse fixture to beat the Panthers with the same margin as second half strikes from Modou Barrow and Musa Barrow to send them to the summit of the group with seven points.
They booked qualification in the penultimate round with a narrow 1-0 victory over Angola in Bakau. Assan Ceesay scored on the hour mark after Ablie Jallow’s fierce effort was fumbled by the keeper and goal poacher Ceesay pounce on the opportunity to slot in the winner
With Gabon’s 3-0 thrashing of DR Congo in Franceville meant both teams qualified for the tournament. A much-changed Scorpions team lost 1-0 to DR Congo in the last match as did Gabon against Angola.
The Scorpions achieved the unthinkable as they were the only West African team that never qualified for the biannual tournament.
“It is an incredible thing that’s difficult to explain, because for 69 years (since the formation of association football) we never qualified for a senior national team major tournament, so this is a historic qualification,” said forward Assan Ceesay.
“I’m so lucky to be the one who scored the goal that qualified The Gambia to the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for the first time.”
Ceesay has been the Scorpions goal magnet scoring most of the goals in the last three years and he said the goal against Angola will forever remain with him.
“The image of me scoring the goal against Angola will forever remain in my mind,” the former Gamtel forward told CAFOnline.com.
“When I look at the image it feels like I scored the right now and it is a feeling that will live with me forever, because it is an unforgettable moment.
“What the goal brought to the Gambian people and myself is just incredible, and I will never forget it for the rest of my life.”
The Gambia’s qualification was masterminded by the much-travelled Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet. The former Togo, Zimbabwe and Namibia boss took over the job on a short-term basis in June 2018.
Saintfiet transformed the Scorpions into a competitive team that would fancy its chances against the continent’s big boys.
“I’m very proud to be the Gambia coach,” an emotional Saintfiet told CAFOnline.com. “Very proud of the players who achieved this and becoming the best players in the history of Gambian football.
“We knew it was possible, this was the ambition two and a half years ago when we started, we had a plan going forward, and now we’re there, but it is the first step, and we want more.”
Saintfiet’s team is a blend of youth and experience with the likes of Musa Barrow, Bubacarr Trawally and Sulayman Marreh among the younger generation of the of the team.
“The AFCON qualification means the world to me because as a footballer growing up, I’ve always wanted to see our country play in the elite of African senior team football, which is the AFCON, and to be part of the group that wrote history in getting us to our first AFCON is quite a blessing,” said UAE based forward Trawally.
“For me, it means that a part of my dream in playing in elite senior team football against other ‘big’ nations has come true and it’s something that I’ll forever cherish in my life and be happy with in my CV.”
The Scorpions performance in this campaign has been attributed to many things amongst which is how the team is taking care of and better travelling arrangements.
“There has been a lot of improvements in the preparations, the support from the people, the readiness and hunger from players,” noted Sulayman Marreh.
“The difference is that we have a young talented group and a lot of us are competing at the highest level and also the motivation the team is getting from the public and government,” added Musa Barrow.
The Scorpions travelled with a chartered flight during the last two international windows and that helped the team bounding.
“The fact that the organisation has changed a lot in terms of how we travel for the matches by travelling as a group,” Trawally added.
“Before, we would spend more than two days on the journey to join the national team and we’ll arrive tired but nowadays we converge at one destination and then fly home for the matches which help even in team building.”
Gambia’s historic qualification adds a new feather to the cap of captain Pa Modou Jagne who has represented the Smiling Coast of Africa as the country is affectionately called at every level.
The 31-year-old who’s currently starring in the Swiss fifth tier represented the Gambia at the FIFA U-17 and U-20 World Cups winning bronze at the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, Congo Brazzaville 2007.
“Qualifying for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations is a proud moment for every Gambian especially the team, coaching staff, the football federation and the government, players and the entire nation,” Jagne said.
“We’ve been dreaming for this, because we were born hearing that The Gambia never qualified and we’re very lucky to be part of the team that made history to qualify the country to the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time.”
Huge difference
The Gambia boosts of many exciting talents plying their trade in good leagues around the globe which wasn’t the case in years gone by says former international Modou Jagne.
“We have a much stronger squad with a lot of depth we had some local players and some players that were playing in Europe or outside but not at the top leagues,” said Jagne who now works as The Gambia Football Federation’s Competitions Manager.
“There’s a big difference between the days when I used to play and today, in the fact there’s better preparation and coordination of the national team today than it was during my time.
“These current crops of players are much more mature, and they’ve had better preparations and it’s actually a better timing that they’re able to achieve this feat.”
The former Hawks and SC Rheindorf Altach forward believes the expansion of the tournament from 16 to 24 teams has also helped the Scorpions to realize their dreams of qualifying.
“Another game changer was the fact that the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations was expanded to 24 teams, and that added the believe that even if we can’t be in the previous AFCONs, with that expansion we’re not far behind those usual perennial giants of Africa and there was a chance.”
Source: CAF