Gambia women's national football team

This article is about the women's team. For the men's team, see Gambia national football team.

The Gambia

Nickname(s)	The Scorpions
Association	Gambia Football Federation (GFF)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach	Yahya Manneh
FIFA code	GAM
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	129 (15 March 2024) [1]
Highest	104 (December 2020)
Lowest	129 (December 2023)
First international
Morocco 2–1 Gambia   (Rabat, Morocco; 4 April 2018) [2]
Biggest win
Sierra Leone 1–4 Gambia   (Espargos, Cape Verde; 21 January 2023)
Biggest defeat
Cameroon 8–0 Gambia   (Yaoundé, Cameroon; 18 February 2022)

The Gambia women's national football team (recognized at The Gambia by FIFA) ^[3] represents the Gambia in international women's football. It is governed by the Gambia Football Federation. As of December 2019, it has only competed in one major international competition, the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations qualification. The Gambia has two youth teams, an under-17 side that has competed in FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup qualifiers, and an under-19 side that withdrew from regional qualifiers for an under-19 World Cup. The development of a national team faces challenges similar to those across Africa, although the national football association has four staff members focusing on women's football.

History

The team

In 1985, few countries had women's national football teams. ^[4] While the sport gained popularity worldwide in later decades, the Gambia's national team only played its first game in 2007. ^{[5] [6]} That game was not FIFA-recognized.

The Gambian Senior National Team's first appearance at a major event occurred in April 2018 when they lost a 1–2 result at Burkina Faso in the opening round of qualifying for the 2018 Africa Cup of Nations. In the second leg of the fixture, the Gambia produced a 2–1 victory of their own. As the results of both legs were identical, a penalty shoot-out was required to determine which squad would advance. The Gambia converted all five of its penalty kicks, and advanced to the second round of qualifying. ^[7] The Gambia drew the defending Cup of Nations champions Nigeria as their second round opponent. They failed to score against the Super Falcons, and were eliminated from the tournament with a 0–7 aggregate line. ^[8]

The country did not have a FIFA-recognised youth national team until 2012, when the Gambia under-17 women's team competed in Confederation of African Football qualifiers for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, to be held in Azerbaijan in September 2012. The Gambia fielded a team of 24 players, narrowed from an initial pool of 49 young women. ^{[9] [10]} Two girls from the SOS Children’s Village Bakoteh were chosen as a members of the team. ^[9] The Gambia first played Sierra Leone in a pair of qualifying matches for the tournament. The Gambia won the first match 3–0 in Banjul, the Gambia's capital. ^[10] The return match was delayed for 24 hours and played in Makeni. ^[10] The Gambia beat Sierra Leone 4–3 to qualify for the final round. ^[11] The Gambia then beat Tunisia 1–0 at home and won 2–1 in the away fixture. Adama Tamba and Awa Demba scored the Gambia's goals. Tunisia's only goal was a Gambian own goal. The win qualified the Gambia for the 2012 Azerbaijan World Cup. ^[12]

The Gambia also has an under-19 team that was to play in the 2002 African U-19 Women's Championship. That Gambian squad's first match was to be against Morocco, but the team withdrew from the competition. ^[13]

Background and development

The development of women's football in Africa faces several challenges, including limited access to education, poverty amongst women, inequalities and human rights abuses targeting women. ^{[14] [15] [16] [17]} Funding is another issue impacting the game in Africa, where most financial assistance comes from FIFA and not national football associations. ^[18] Another challenge is the retention of football players. Many women footballers leave the continent to seek greater opportunity in Europe or the United States. ^[18]

Gambia's national football association was founded in 1952, and became affiliated with FIFA in 1968. ^{[19] [20]} Football is the most popular women's sport in the country, and was first played in an organized system in 1998. ^[20] A national competition was launched in 2007, ^[21] the same year FIFA started an education course on football for women. ^[5] Competition was active on both the national and scholastic levels by 2009. ^[5] There are four staffers dedicated to women's football in the Gambia Football Association, and representation of women on the board is required by the association's charter. ^[20]

Death of Fatim Jawara

In September 2016, Fatim Jawara, a member of the national team, left Serekunda in her homeland the Gambia and crossed the Sahara Desert to Libya. ^[22] In November 2016, she travelled with others on two boats across the Mediterranean Sea, heading towards the Lampedusa island of Italy. ^[23] She did this as she sought to smuggle herself into Europe, where the national team was due to play Casa Sports F.C. from Senegal as part of a festival to celebrate women's football. ^[24] Due to a severe storm, their boats capsized and Jawara drowned at the age of 19, with her family was contacted several days after the tragedy. ^[24] Lamin Kaba Bajo, President of the Gambia Football Federation, said "We are grieving at the moment as this is a great loss to the national soccer team and the nation." ^[22]

Results and fixtures

Main article: Gambia women's national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win  Draw  Lose  Fixture

2023

Sierra Leone   v   Gambia

21 January 2023 (2023-01-21) 2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup GS	Sierra Leone	1–4	Gambia	Sal, Cape Verde
18:00	Kabba 62'	Report	Jatta 2', 20', 56', 72'	Stadium: Estádio Marcelo Leitão Referee: Sylvina Garnett (Liberia)

Gambia   v   Senegal

23 January 2023 (2023-01-23) 2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup GS	Gambia	1–4	Senegal	Sal, Cape Verde
18:00	Jatta 45+3' (pen.)		Diallo 2', 49', 71', 83'	Stadium: Estádio Marcelo Leitão Referee: Sylvina Garnett (Liberia)

Guinea   v   Gambia

25 January 2023 (2023-01-25) 2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup GS	Guinea	0–1	Gambia	Sal, Cape Verde
15:00			Jatta 75'	Stadium: Estádio Marcelo Leitão

Cape Verde   v   Gambia

27 January 2023 (2023-01-27) 2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup SF	Cape Verde	2–1	Gambia	Sal, Cape Verde
15:00	Da Luz 14' Do Rosário 82'	[ Report (FCF)]	Jatta 66'	Stadium: Estádio Marcelo Leitão

Gambia   v   Guinea-Bissau

29 January 2023 (2023-01-29) 2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup 3rd place	Gambia	3–2	Guinea-Bissau	Sal, Cape Verde
15:00	Buwaro 28', 37' Jarju 90+1'		Da Silva 50' Mendes 90+5'	Stadium: Estádio Marcelo Leitão

Gambia   v   Namibia

21 September 2023 (2023-09-21) 2024 AFWCON qualification First round 1st leg	Gambia	2–3	Namibia	El Jadida, Morocco
15:00  UTC±0	Kanteh 24', 59' (pen.)	Report (GFF)	Mulunga 14' Kooper 19' Coleman 75'	Stadium: Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium

Namibia   v   Gambia

24 September 2023 (2023-09-24) 2024 AFWCON qualification First round 2nd leg	Namibia	2–0 (5–2 agg.)	Gambia	El Jadida, Morocco
15:00  UTC+1	Coleman 15', 37'	Report (GFF) Report (NFA)		Stadium: Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium
Note: Namibia won 5–2 on aggregate

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

Position	Name	Ref.
Head coach	Yahya Manneh	[25]

Manager history

• Bubacarr Jallow (????–2022)
• Bubacarr Jallow(2022–2023)
• Yahya Manneh (2023– )

Players

See also: Category:Gambia women's international footballers

Current squad

This is the convened selection for the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification in September 2023. ^[26]

Caps and goals accurate up to and including 19 June 2021.

• List of players still not update

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
	1 GK	Fatou Joof		Casa Sport FC
18	1 GK	Matty Manga		Bayelsa Queen
22	1 GK	Mariama Ceesay	(1998-01-22) 22 January 1998 (age 26)	Red Scorpions
13	2 DF	Mariama Bojang
13	2 DF	Ruggy Joof	(2001-04-13) 13 April 2001 (age 22)	Determine Girls
	2 DF	Wuday Colley		Greater Tomorrow
	2 DF	Veronic Sambo
	2 DF	Fatou Fatty		Red Scorpions
	2 DF	Fatou Darboe		Police FC
	2 DF	Juana Colley
	3 MF	Kaddy Jatta	(1993-11-28) 28 November 1993 (age 30)	Red Scorpions
19	3 MF	Metta Sanneh	(1993-02-10) 10 February 1993 (age 31)	Police FC
19	3 MF	Isatou Jallow
19	3 MF	Kumba Kassama
2	3 MF	Mbassey Darboe	(1998-05-20) 20 May 1998 (age 25)	Determine Girls
19	3 MF	Manyima Stevelmans	(2000-10-31) 31 October 2000 (age 23)	ALG Spor
	4 FW	Kumba Kuyateh	(1996-10-27) 27 October 1996 (age 27)	Red Scorpions
	4 FW	Haddy Wally
	4 FW	Mam Drammeh
	4 FW	Fatoumatta Jammeh		Red Scorpions
	4 FW	Fatou Kanteh		Villarreal
	4 FW	Elizabeth Ndecky
	4 FW	Catherine Jatta
	4 FW	Fatoumatta Sonko

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to a Gambia squad in the past 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Ramatoulie Dukureh		-	-	City Girls FC	2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup PRE
GK	Fatou Kine Mendy		-	-	Berewuleng	2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup
GK	Aminata Gaye	(1996-03-03) 3 March 1996 (age 28)	-	-	Police FC	2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup
DF	Sally Ceesay		-	-	Police FC	2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup PRE
DF	Juwana Colley	(1997-10-11) 11 October 1997 (age 26)			Koita FC	2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup PRE
DF	Fatou Lowe		-	-	Police FC	2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup
DF	Bintou Ceesay		-	-	Police FC	2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup
DF	Fatoumatta Mook		-	-	Police FC	2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup
MF	Awa Jawo	(1997-02-21) 21 February 1997 (age 27)	-	-		2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup PRE
MF	Kadijatou Bayo		-	-	Red Scorpions
MF	Mamie Sylva	(1992-04-25) 25 April 1992 (age 31)	-	-	Police FC	2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup
MF	Jabou Jobarteh		-	-	Police FC	2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup
FW	Ola Buwaro	(1996-11-28) 28 November 1996 (age 27)	-	-	Red Scorpions	2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup
FW	Kaddy Jarju		-	-	Future Bi	2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup

Previous squads

WAFU Zone A Women's Cup

• 2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup squads

Records

*Active players in bold, statistics correct as of 1 August 2021.

Most capped players # Player Year(s) Caps

Top goalscorers # Player Year(s) Goals Caps

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
1991	Did not enter
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019	Did not qualify
2023	Did not qualify
Total	0/9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics record
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
1996	Did not enter
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2021
Total	0/7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Africa Women Cup of Nations

Africa Women Cup of Nations record
Year	Result	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	GF	GA
1991	Did not enter
1995
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018	Did not qualify
2020	Cancelled due to covid
2022	Did not qualify
2024	Did not qualify
Total	0/13	0	0	0	0	0	0

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

African Games

African Games record
Year	Result	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	GF	GA
2003	Did not enter
2007
2011	Did not qualify
2015
2019
2023	To Be Determined
Total	0/4	0	0	0	0	0	0

WAFU Women's Cup record

WAFU Zone A Women's Cup
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2020	Group Stage	5th	3	1	0	2	4	10
Total	Group Stage	1/1	3	0	0	3	1	17

Honours

Regional

WAFU Zone A Women's Cup

• 3rd Place (1): 2023

All−time record against FIFA recognized nations

The list shown below shows the Djibouti national football team all−time international record against opposing nations.
*As of xxxxxx after match against xxxx.

Key

  Positive balance (more wins than losses)

  Neutral balance (as many wins as losses)

  Negative balance (more losses than wins)

Against	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Confederation

Record per opponent

*As ofxxxxx after match against xxxxx.

Key

  Positive balance (more wins than losses)

  Neutral balance (as many wins as losses)

  Negative balance (more losses than wins)

The following table shows Djibouti's all-time official international record per opponent:

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W%	Confederation
Total									—

See also

• Africa portal
• Gambia portal
• Sports portal
• Association football portal
• Women's association football portal

• Sport in the Gambia
  • Football in the Gambia
    • Women's football in the Gambia
• Gambia national football team
• Women's football

References

1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
2. "Gambia 1-2 Morocco- Warm up for Women's Scorpions – THE GFF | Official Website". Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
3. "The Gambia". FIFA . Retrieved 4 August 2023.
4. Chrös McDougall (1 January 2012). Soccer. ABDO. p. 45. ISBN   978-1-61783-146-1 . Retrieved 13 April 2012.
5. "Goal! Football: Gambie" (PDF). FIFA. 21 April 2009. p. 3. Retrieved 16 April 2012.^{[ dead link ]}
6. Saavedra, Martha; Centerfor African Studies, University of California, Berkeley (December 2007). "Women's Football in Africa" (PDF). Third Transnational Meeting on Sport and Gender, Urbino. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
7. http://www.cafonline.com/en-us/competitions/11theditionwomenafcon-ghana2018/Fixtures?roundId=b5b9XUlkEPMAUe1kOhsANknd7oWMBWxJVgdPBHTlgJr9z70IRXPNalV%2b6nUnzydk 2018 CAF Cup of Nations Qualifying First Round Fixtures
8. http://www.cafonline.com/en-us/competitions/11theditionwomenafcon-ghana2018/Fixtures?roundId=s0WFLeaiyMTF9ZW6A2P2K1bFD4SeGhnZHUqvKvqW40oxroG0RTQDjUw1wbfCebMP 2018 CAF Cup of Nations Qualifying Second Round Fixtures
9. "Goal for the girls!". SOS Children's Villages International. 21 January 2012. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
10. "Sierra Leone host Gambia in FIFA Women's U-17 qualifying match in Makeni". Sierra Leone Football. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
11. "Gambia beat Tunisia on the 1st lega of the Final Round". Gambia: Gambia Football Association. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
12. "Gambian Girls Make Heroic Return". Gambia: Gambia Football Association. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
13. "African Women U-19 Championship 2002". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
14. Jean Williams (15 December 2007). A Beautiful Game: International Perspectives on Women's Football. Berg. p. 186. ISBN   978-1-84520-674-1 . Retrieved 13 April 2012.
15. Richard Giulianotti; David McArdle (2006). Sport, Civil Liberties and Human Rights. Routledge. p. 77. ISBN   978-0-7146-5344-0 . Retrieved 28 June 2012.
16. Chris Hallinan; Steven J. Jackson (31 August 2008). Social And Cultural Diversity In A Sporting World. Emerald Group Publishing. pp. 40–41. ISBN   978-0-7623-1456-0 . Retrieved 28 June 2012.
17. Jean Williams (18 December 2003). A Game for Rough Girls?: A History of Women's Football in Britain. Routledge. pp. 173–175. ISBN   978-0-415-26338-2 . Retrieved 28 June 2012.
18. Gabriel Kuhn (24 February 2011). Soccer Vs. the State: Tackling Football and Radical Politics. PM Press. p. 34. ISBN   978-1-60486-053-5 . Retrieved 13 April 2012.
19. Ballard, John; Suff, Paul (1999). The dictionary of football : the complete A-Z of international football from Ajax to Zinedine Zidane. London: Boxtree. p. 258. ISBN   0752224344. OCLC   59442612.
20. FIFA (2006). "Women's Football Today" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
21. "Goal! Football: Gambie" (PDF). FIFA. 21 April 2009. p. 1. Retrieved 16 April 2012.^{[ dead link ]}
22. France-Presse, Agense (2 November 2016). "Gambian national goalkeeper dies during Mediterranean crossing". The Guardian . Retrieved 3 November 2016.
23. Jason Burke (3 November 2016). "Gambia goalkeeper who died in Mediterranean wanted to play in Europe". the Guardian . Retrieved 4 November 2016.
24. "Gambia goalkeeper dies trying to reach Europe". BBC News . 3 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
25. coach
26. "Gambia 🇬🇲 squad to play Namibia". Twitter .