By Seedy Jobe
The Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC) says the country is fully prepared for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with its athletes selected, officials confirmed, and final training camps underway ahead of the competition, which begins on Aug. 23.
Speaking in an interview with QTV on Thursday, Muhammed L. Saidykhan, the GNOC’s communications officer, said preparations were complete and that the first delegation would depart within days.
“The Commonwealth Sports Association of The Gambia is basically 100 percent ready to represent the country at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow,” Mr. Saidykhan said.
He said athlete selection is led by the country’s national sports associations, which nominate competitors based on qualification standards established by their respective international federations. Athletes earn places through qualifying competitions, with results submitted to the GNOC for final consideration.
In instances where Commonwealth Sport allocates quota places directly to member nations, Mr. Saidykhan said the GNOC works with the relevant associations to identify athletes who meet the required competitive standards.
“The responsibility of identifying talent rests with the national associations,” he said.
The Gambia will send a team of 12 athletes competing in four sports: athletics, judo, swimming, and cycling. The athletics team will be led by Gina Mariam Bass Bittaye, the country’s most decorated track athlete and a three-time Olympian.
GNOC officials say they are optimistic the delegation can add to The Gambia’s Commonwealth Games medal tally. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, judoka Faye Njie won a silver medal, ending the country’s 52-year wait for a Commonwealth medal. The Gambia’s first medal came in 1970, when Sheikh Tijan claimed bronze in Edinburgh.
Mr. Saidykhan said officials hope Glasgow could produce another milestone.
“We expect history to repeat itself,” he said. “We are aiming to return home with our first gold medal from a major multi-sport event.”
While Bass remains the country’s most recognizable athlete, Mr. Saidykhan pointed to the emergence of a new generation of sprinters. He cited the women’s 4×100-meter relay team’s bronze medal at the 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh—achieved without Bass in the lineup—as evidence of growing depth in Gambian athletics.
Athletes including Isatou Sey and Nyimasata Jawneh are expected to compete in Glasgow, while the Gambia Athletics Association is working to build a sustainable pipeline of talent beyond Bass’s career, he said.
Training has presented logistical challenges. With the athletics track at Independence Stadium undergoing rehabilitation, local facilities remain limited.
To compensate, the GNOC has organized overseas training camps. Members of the athletics team are currently in Senegal for a 10-day training program, while Bass and fellow sprinter Ebrima Camara are preparing in Portugal. Mr. Saidykhan noted that Bass recently won gold at an athletics meeting in Braga.
Five other Gambian athletes are training in France under the Olympic Solidarity scholarship program, including Alieu Joof, who recently earned a bronze medal at the French National Championships.
The Glasgow Games will also mark The Gambia’s debut in Commonwealth cycling. Because the country lacks a velodrome, its cyclist will travel to the United Kingdom for a 10-day specialized training camp before the competition.
Mr. Saidykhan said the committee’s investment in athlete development extends beyond Glasgow, forming part of a broader strategy for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. After sending seven athletes to the Paris Olympics in 2024, the GNOC hopes to qualify more than 10 competitors for Los Angeles.
“The Gambia is no longer a country that goes to international competitions simply to participate,” Mr. Saidykhan said. “We are going there to compete.”
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