SPORT: Banjul Cancels 2021 Summer Football Championship

Banjul Sports Committee has announced the cancellation of its 2021 'Nawettan' (summer football championship) following consultations with affiliated football clubs.

The decision was reached after some team representative calls for the cancellation citing some challenges confronting the City's only mini stadium. Team reps calling for the cancellation argued that the conditions of the pitch are not playable as both the pitch and the perimeter are badly damaged.

"To allow the Gambia Football Federation to finish rehabilitating the KG5 Mini Stadium, we must cancel the Nawettan" some of them argued."

KG5 Mini Stadium in Banjul where the local Nawettan is played

After a lengthy discussion on the subject, team representatives were allowed to decide and the majority voted for the cancellation, which forced the Banjul Sports Committee (BSC) to officially cancelled the jamboree.

BSC already started the preparation for the 2021 Championships as they successful staged and completed the qualifiers for the 'Nawettan' and as well secured funding for this seasons competition.

"BSC had secured sponsorship for the League Trophy which includes D75, 000 for the winner, D50, 000 for the runner up, D10, 000 for the semi-finalists, D5, 000 for the quarter-finalists. Free registration and a set of jersey for all the participating teams are also part of the package", Ndongo Camara the first vice president of BSC said.

But this was not still enough to persuade the majority of the team reps to reverse their decision.

This cancellation will mean Banjul will now go two seasons without playing the country's most popular local football, following cancellations last season due to the covid-19 pandemic.