The_Gambia_national_football_team

Gambia national football team

Gambia national football team

Men's national association football team representing The Gambia

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

The Gambia national football team (recognized as The Gambia by FIFA)[2] represents The Gambia in men's international football and is controlled by the Gambia Football Federation. Until 1965, the team and the country were known as British Gambia. The team has never qualified for the World Cup. In 2021, Gambia qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals for the first time in history. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Quick Facts Nickname(s), Association ...

History

Under the name British Gambia, the team played their first ever game on 9 February 1953 against Sierra Leone, winning 2–1 at home in a friendly.[3] In April 1963, the team entered the L'Amitié tournament in Senegal, a competition mainly for French-speaking nations. They were drawn in a group with France's amateur team, the Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) and Gabon. Their first match was lost 5–1 to the French amateurs on 11 April. The Gambia drew 2–2 with the Upper Volta on 13 April, and had the same result the very next day versus Gabon. The Gambia did not advance to the next round.

After the tournament in Senegal, the Gambia did not play another match until 16 November 1968, when they travelled to Sierra Leone to play its team in a friendly and lost 2–1. They played again in Sierra Leone in The Gambia's next match on 24 April 1971, and the hosts won 3–1. On 2 May 1971, The Gambia travelled to Guinea for a friendly and lost 4–2. On 14 May 1972, The Gambia returned to Guinea for their first African Games qualifier and lost 8–0 and were knocked out.

In 1975, the Gambia entered its first qualification campaign for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Canada. They were drawn in a qualifier against Guinea, and lost the first leg 1–0 at home on 27 April 1975. The second leg was lost 6–0 in Guinea on 1 June as Guinea advanced 7–0 on aggregate.

In August of that same year, the Gambia entered their first qualification for the African Cup of Nations, with the aim of reaching the 1976 finals in Ethiopia. They were drawn in a two-legged qualifier against Morocco and lost the first leg 3–0 away on 10 August. They lost by the same score in their home leg on 24 August and Morocco advanced 6–0 on aggregate.

After the qualification campaign for the 1976 finals, The Gambia played their first match against a full European side, losing a home friendly 4–1 to Denmark on 30 January 1977.[4]

On 12 October 2002, the team got their biggest ever victory in international competition, a 6–0 victory against Lesotho.[5]

In May 2014, the Gambia was banned from all CAF competitions for two years after deliberately falsifying players' ages.[6]

The nation's fortunes improved in qualification for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. Although they failed to qualify, they took it to the final round of games, including drawing twice with African giants Algeria.

On 13 November, in their first Group D match of 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, Gambia defeated Angola 1–3 in Luanda. This was the Scorpions' first away win in an AFCON or FIFA World Cup qualifier ever, at their 40th attempt. An impressive campaign saw them qualify for their first ever major tournament that year. As the lowest-ranked team in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the Gambia defied the odds by defeating favourites Tunisia in the group stage, finishing unbeaten in 2nd place in the group. A further win against Guinea in the Round of 16 saw them reach the quarter-finals at their first attempt, eventually going out to tournament hosts Cameroon.

Home stadium

Football fans watching Gambia v Guinea

Independence Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Bakau, Gambia. It is currently used mostly for football matches, although it is also used for music concerts, political events, trade fairs and national celebrations. The stadium holds 30,000 people.[7]

Results and fixtures

Main article: Gambia national football team results (2020–present)

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

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

24 March 2023 AFCON qualification Mali  2–0  Gambia Bamako, Mali
19:00 UTC±0
Report Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars
Referee: Jean Ouattara (Burkina Faso)
28 March 2023 AFCON qualification Gambia  1–0  Mali Casablanca, Morocco
16:00 UTC±0
Report Stadium: Stade Mohamed V
Referee: Kouassi Attisso Attiogbe (Togo)
14 June 2023 AFCON qualification South Sudan  2–3  Gambia Ismailia, Egypt
15:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Suez Canal Stadium
Referee: Dahane Beida (Mauritania)
10 September 2023 AFCON qualification Gambia  2–2  Congo Marrakesh, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Stade de Marrakech
Referee: Mohamed Maarouf Eid Mansour (Egypt)
16 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Burundi  3–2  Gambia Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
16:00 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: Benjamin Mkapa (National Stadium)
Referee: Djindo Louis Houngnandande (Benin)
20 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Gambia  0–2  Ivory Coast Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
17:00 UTC+3 Report
Stadium: Benjamin Mkapa (National Stadium)
Referee: Jalal Jayed (Morocco)

2024

15 January 2023 AFCON GS Senegal  3–0  Gambia Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast
14:00 UTC±0
Report Stadium: Charles Konan Banny Stadium
Attendance: 7,896
Referee: Redouane Jiyed (Morocco)
19 January 2023 AFCON GS Guinea  1–0  Gambia Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast
 Report Stadium: Charles Konan Banny Stadium
Attendance: 19,822
Referee: Abdel Aziz Bouh (Mauritania)
23 January 2023 AFCON GS Gambia  2–3  Cameroon Bouaké, Ivory Coast
17:00
Report
Stadium: Stade de la Paix
Attendance: 24,172
Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia)
2 June 2026 World Cup qualification Gambia  v  Seychelles
9 June 2026 World Cup qualification Gabon  v  Gambia

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[8]

Caps and goals correct as of 23 January 2023, after the match against Cameroon.

More information No., Pos. ...

Recent call ups

The following players have also been called up to the Gambia squad within the last twelve months.

More information Pos., Player ...

Records

As of 20 November 2023[9]
Players in bold are still active with Gambia.

Most appearances

Omar Colley is Gambia's most capped player with 49 appearances.
More information Rank, Player ...

Top goalscorer

More information Rank, Player ...

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

More information FIFA World Cup, Qualification ...

Africa Cup of Nations

More information Africa Cup of Nations record, Year ...

Honours

References

  1. [1]
    "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  2. [2]
    "The Gambia". FIFA. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  3. [3]
    "World Football Elo Ratings: Gambia". World Football Elo Rankings. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  4. [4]
    "Gambia – List of International Matches". Rsssf.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  5. [5]
    "Gambia v Lesotho, 13 October 2002". 11v11.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  6. [6]
    "The Gambia disqualified from all Caf competitions". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  7. [7]
    "Gambia National Stadium". Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  8. [8]
    "Final Squad" (PDF). CAF Online.
  9. [9]
    "Gambia". National Football Teams.
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