The Gambia Football Federation has for years been dogged by persistent allegations of weak governance, opaque decision-making, and poor accountability. The latest controversy concerns the reported D14 million spent on constructing a “mini stadium” in Nyakoi, Upper River Region. Rather than publishing comprehensive documentation on procurement, budgeting, and expenditure, GFF leadership has offered general assurances while dismissing public scrutiny.
Yesterday morning, its President Lamin Kaba Bajo was on Coffee Time with Peter Gomez purportedly to clarify only to raise more questions while providing no answers. Instead of releasing verifiable financial records, he criticized those demanding transparency and shifted focus to development achievements under his tenure. Development gains, even if substantial, do not negate the obligation of transparency. Good governance is measured not only by outputs but also by compliance with due process, financial integrity, and institutional accountability.
It is important to remind the public that just like GFF, the world football body FIFA, had also been engulfed in similar controversies during the tenure of its former presidents Joao Havelange and in particular Sepp Blatter. In 2011, FIFA paid two million Swiss francs to Michel Platini, former EUFA president for advisory services allegedly provided to Sepp Blatter between 1998 and 2002. This payment prompted the Swiss Attorney General in 2015 to open criminal proceedings against Blatter for bribery and breach of trust. At the end of the trial both men were acquitted by the court in July 2022, even though prosecutors appealed the decision.
Separately, FIFA’s Ethics Committee imposed disciplinary sanctions in 2015 banning Blatter from FIFA activities for six years and Platini for four effectively ending Platini’s presidential ambitions. Furthermore, amid the broader FIFA corruption crisis, US authorities indicted multiple FIFA officials for racketeering, bribery, wire fraud, and money laundering.
But it must be noted that it was during Sepp Blatter’s leadership that the world saw the greatest expansion and development of football especially in favour of Asian and African countries. Therefore, the issue with GFF is not what the Bajo leadership has done for football development but whether there are transparency and accountability in the use of resources and decision making.
The argument by Lamin Kabo Bajo that no GFF member has complained is insufficient. Members may lack independence, leverage, or incentive to challenge the executive. Public accountability does not depend solely on internal dissent. Nor should citizens be required to physically inspect a facility as Bajo suggested before raising legitimate financial concerns. Transparency requires proactive disclosure.
Given the myriad of controversies around GFF, what Lamin Kabo Bajo should do is to establish an independent and impartial Ethics Panel including non-GFF members to look into the issues. Also, in addition to going to West Coast Radio, will he convene a press conference on the matter to share full details? Thirdly, will he open the books and share documents on the bidding process, procurement, payments, budgets and so on? In other words, if Bajo is convinced of propriety in GFF, he should be willing to submit himself to scrutiny in full than saying that organizations that criticize GFF are not transparent themselves.
It is in light of the foregoing that I wish to call on the Ministry of Youth and Sports to take action on GFF even if that means suspending the executive and facing consequences from CAF and FIFA. The issue with GFF did not start with the current executive and it will not end with them so long as drastic measures are not taken to ensure system change in GFF. If GFF cannot hold itself accountable, then the Government must intervene in the interest of football. The state of Gambian football in all respects should have been far above this level if there was indeed good governance.
Therefore, the Government should not sit still to watch the nation miss huge opportunity and progress in football on the false notion that GFF is shieled by FIFA. Contrary to Mr. Bajo’s claims that GFF is private, the Federation does not exist for the benefit of executive members. Rather GFF is a public-interest, non-profit organization entrusted with stewarding national football, and bound by good governance principles and standards. When a football federation flouts these principles and standards, they should be subjected to accountability.
I hope the Ministry of Youth and Sports will intervene quickly. If systemic reform requires decisive state action, even at the risk of temporary FIFA suspension, such disruption may serve as a catalyst for long-term institutional restructuring. Gambian football deserves governance that is transparent, accountable, and fit for purpose.
For The Gambia, Our Homeland.
By Madi Jobarteh
