By Seedy Jobe
The Ministry of Youth and Sports on Wednesday outlined a series of investments in sports infrastructure and youth development, announcing the completion of renovations at Independence Stadium, the expansion of community sports facilities, and increased government support for national teams and skills-training programs.
Speaking at the government’s monthly news conference at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre in Bijilo, Youth and Sports Minister Bakary Y. Badjie said the initiatives were part of a broader effort to improve sporting facilities and create more opportunities for young Gambians.
Among the ministry’s latest projects is the newly inaugurated O.J. Jallow Memorial Mini-Stadium in Bakoteh, home of the Serrekunda Central Zone.
Mr. Badjie said the site had undergone extensive redevelopment over the past two and a half years. Previously prone to flooding and difficult to use during the rainy season, the facility has been transformed into a multipurpose sports complex.
The upgraded venue includes facilities for basketball, volleyball, handball, beach volleyball, and table tennis, as well as changing rooms and floodlights that will allow football matches and other activities to be held at night.
Mr. Badjie described it as the country’s best mini-stadium outside Independence Stadium.
The Bakoteh project joins several community stadiums inaugurated by the government in recent years, including facilities in Kiang, Manduar, Janjanbureh, Kafuta and Sandu in the Upper River Region, he said.
Mr. Badjie also announced that renovations at Independence Stadium have been completed after three years of work, an important step in efforts to restore international matches to the country’s principal sporting venue.
He said the Confederation of African Football, or CAF, had granted the stadium provisional approval, stressing that the designation did not necessarily indicate deficiencies in the physical infrastructure.
According to Mr. Badjie, the stadium’s pitch received full approval during the latest inspection. The remaining assessment will focus largely on match-day operations, including crowd management, security, spectator entry and exit procedures, and emergency preparedness.
Officials will also have to demonstrate the performance of newly installed equipment under actual match conditions, including the scoreboard, public-address and override systems, and arrangements for medical emergencies, he said.
Mr. Badjie said CAF had tightened its safety and match-management requirements in recent years. He cited the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire, where spectators faced strict rules governing parking, ticketing, and access to designated areas around stadiums.
The government has procured the equipment required for Independence Stadium, he said, but securing full approval will require continued coordination among the ministry, the Gambia Football Federation, and supporters attending matches.
Beyond sports infrastructure, the ministry announced an expansion of the National Youth Service Scheme, or NYSS.
Mr. Badjie said 245 young Gambians — 140 men and 105 women — were sworn into the program on Tuesday after being selected from more than 1,000 applicants nationwide.
He described the intake as the largest in the program’s history, noting that previous cohorts typically consisted of between 150 and 200 participants.
The latest group brings overall participation in recent NYSS programs to nearly 600 young people, according to the minister. Last year, the government enrolled 200 participants in an apprenticeship program and another 100 university graduates in a national service initiative.
Participants in the skills program receive government-funded tuition and monthly stipends while undergoing two years of vocational training, Mr. Badjie said.
The minister also highlighted government support for sports beyond football, pointing to The Gambia’s national volleyball team, which qualified for the African Volleyball Championship in Tunisia.
Mr. Badjie said the government had committed D10 million to the team’s participation, including D7 million for allowances, bonuses and accommodation and D3 million for airline tickets.
He said additional incentives were tied to the team’s progress in the competition.
“If they reach a certain level of the competition, they know what they’re supposed to have,” Mr. Badjie said. “If they get to the final, they know all of that.”
He said the increased financial support reflected an effort to move national sports away from dependence primarily on volunteerism and individual passion.
The announcements presented a broad picture of the ministry’s current priorities: restoring Independence Stadium to full international use, expanding community sports infrastructure, supporting national teams across different disciplines and increasing government-backed training opportunities for young people.
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