Gambia national football team

Gambia
Nickname(s)	The Scorpions
Association	Gambia Football Federation (GFF)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach	Sang Ndong
Captain	Omar Colley
Most caps	Omar Colley (52)
Top scorer	Assan Ceesay (13)
Home stadium	Independence Stadium
FIFA code	GAM
First colours	Second colours
Gambia; 9 February 1953)
Biggest win
	Gambia 6–0 Lesotho ; (Bakau, Gambia; 13 October 2002)
Biggest defeat
	Guinea 8–0 Gambia ; (Guinea; 14 May 1972)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	2 (first in 2021)
Best result	Quarter-finals (2021)

The Gambia national football team (recognized as The Gambia by FIFA)^[3] 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).

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.^[4] 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.^[5]

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

In May 2014, the Gambia was banned from all CAF competitions for two years after deliberately falsifying players' ages.^[7]

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

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.^[8]

Results and fixtures

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

UTC±0

K. Doumbia 3'
A. Traoré 90+5'

Report

Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars
Referee: Jean Ouattara (Burkina Faso)

28 March

UTC±0

O. Colley 79'

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	Yuel 21' Chol 90+1'	Report	Angier 4 (og)' Jallow 62' Hamza 90+6'	Stadium: Suez Canal Stadium Referee: Dahane Beida (Mauritania)

10 September 2023 AFCON qualification	Gambia	2–2	Congo	Marrakesh, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1	Minteh 79' Badamosi 90'	Report	Makouta 30' Ganvoula 45+1' (pen.)	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	A. Bigirimana 31' Nsabiyumva 35' Abdallah 75'	Report	Barrow 45+4' E. Colley 90+8' (pen.)	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	Kouamé 45' S. Fofana 85'	Stadium: Benjamin Mkapa (National Stadium) Referee: Jalal Jayed (Morocco )

2024

15 January

UTC±0

P. Gueye 4'
Camara 52', 86'

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
	A. Camara 69'	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	Jallow 72' E. Colley 85'	Report	Toko Ekambi 56' Gomez 87' (o.g.) Wooh 90+1'	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

Hans Heiniger (1987–1992)
Sang Ndong (1994–2003)
Antoine Hey (2006–2007)
José Martínez (2007–2008)
Paul Put (2008–2011)
Peter Bonu Johnson (2011–2012)
Luciano Mancini (2012–2013)
Peter Bonu Johnson (2013–2015)
Raoul Savoy (2015)
Sang Ndong (2016–2018)
Tom Saintfiet (2018–2024)
Sang Ndong (2024–)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.^[9]

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

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Modou Jobe	(1988-10-27) 27 October 1988 (age 35)	31	0	Black Leopards
18	1GK	Baboucarr Gaye	(1998-02-24) 24 February 1998 (age 26)	21	0	Lokomotiv Sofia
22	1GK	Lamin Sarr	(2001-03-11) 11 March 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Eskilsminne IF

4	2DF	Dawda Ngum	(1990-09-02) 2 September 1990 (age 33)	21	0	Ariana
5	2DF	Omar Colley	(1992-10-24) 24 October 1992 (age 31)	51	1	Beşiktaş
12	2DF	James Gomez	(2001-11-14) 14 November 2001 (age 22)	19	1	Odense
13	2DF	Ibou Touray	(1994-12-24) 24 December 1994 (age 29)	21	0	Stockport County
14	2DF	Noah Sonko Sundberg	(1996-06-06) 6 June 1996 (age 27)	18	0	Ludogorets Razgrad
15	2DF	Jacob Mendy	(1996-12-27) 27 December 1996 (age 27)	3	0	Wrexham
17	2DF	Saidy Janko	(1995-10-22) 22 October 1995 (age 28)	10	0	Young Boys
21	2DF	Muhammed Sanneh	(2000-02-19) 19 February 2000 (age 24)	10	0	Baník Ostrava
25	2DF	Bubacarr Sanneh	(1994-11-14) 14 November 1994 (age 29)	40	1	FK Zvijezda 09

2	3MF	Hamza Barry	(1994-05-03) 3 May 1994 (age 29)	26	1	Vejle
6	3MF	Sulayman Marreh	(1996-01-15) 15 January 1996 (age 28)	35	1	Železničar Pančevo
8	3MF	Ebou Adams	(1996-01-15) 15 January 1996 (age 28)	16	0	Cardiff City
16	3MF	Alasana Manneh	(1998-04-08) 8 April 1998 (age 26)	12	0	Odense
24	3MF	Ebrima Darboe	(2001-06-06) 6 June 2001 (age 22)	15	0	Sampdoria
27	3MF	Yusupha Bobb	(1996-06-22) 22 June 1996 (age 27)	20	0	KAC Marrakech

3	4FW	Ablie Jallow	(1998-11-14) 14 November 1998 (age 25)	32	8	Metz
7	4FW	Alieu Fadera	(2001-11-03) 3 November 2001 (age 22)	7	0	K.R.C. Genk
9	4FW	Assan Ceesay	(1994-03-17) 17 March 1994 (age 30)	41	14	Damac
10	4FW	Musa Barrow	(1998-11-14) 14 November 1998 (age 25)	38	6	Al Taawoun
11	4FW	Abdoulie Sanyang	(1999-05-08) 8 May 1999 (age 24)	14	0	Grenoble
19	4FW	Ebrima Colley	(2000-02-01) 1 February 2000 (age 24)	24	2	Young Boys
20	4FW	Yankuba Minteh	(2004-07-22) 22 July 2004 (age 19)	5	1	Feyenoord
23	4FW	Muhammed Badamosi	(1998-12-27) 27 December 1998 (age 25)	22	2	Čukarički
26	4FW	Ali Sowe	(1994-06-14) 14 June 1994 (age 29)	12	0	MKE Ankaragücü

Recent call ups

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

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Sheikh Sibi	(1998-02-21) 21 February 1998 (age 26)	3	0	Virtus Verona	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
GK	Ebrima Jarju	(1998-03-16) 16 March 1998 (age 26)	0	0	Paide	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE

DF	Sulayman Bojang	(1997-09-03) 3 September 1997 (age 26)	6	0	Skeid	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
DF	Ismaila Jome	(1994-11-04) 4 November 1994 (age 29)	2	0	Oakland Roots	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
DF	Baboucarr Njie	(1995-06-05) 5 June 1995 (age 28)	0	0	San Antonio	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
DF	Alagie Saine	(2003-01-20) 20 January 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Horsens	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
DF	Momodou Colley	(1995-01-30) 30 January 1995 (age 29)	0	0	Union Titus Pétange	v. Mali, 28 March 2023

MF	Bubacarr Jobe	(1994-11-21) 21 November 1994 (age 29)	10	3	Norrby	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
MF	Sainey Njie	(2001-08-30) 30 August 2001 (age 22)	5	0	Radnik Surdulica	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
MF	Jesper Ceesay	(2003-05-04) 4 May 2003 (age 20)	0	0	Norrköping	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
MF	Saikou Touray	(2000-06-06) 6 June 2000 (age 23)	0	0	Grenoble	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
MF	Saidou Khan	(1995-12-05) 5 December 1995 (age 28)	0	0	Swindon Town	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
MF	Mahmudu Bajo	(2004-08-15) 15 August 2004 (age 19)	0	0	Podbrezová	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
MF	Ismail Ceesay	(2004-08-15) 15 August 2004 (age 19)	0	0	Železiarne Podbrezová	v. Ivory Coast, 20 November 2023
MF	Mustapha Colley	(1996-12-27) 27 December 1996 (age 27)	0	0	Wrexham	v. Ivory Coast, 20 November 2023
MF	Ousman Bojang	(2001-08-30) 30 August 2001 (age 22)	3	0	Radnik Surdulica	v. Congo, 10 September 2023
MF	Ebrima Barrow	(2001-10-20) 20 October 2001 (age 22)	0	0	IFK Norrköping	v. Congo, 10 September 2023
MF	Musa Touray	(1995-12-05) 5 December 1995 (age 28)	0	0	Swindon Town	v. Congo, 10 September 2023
MF	Bakary Kinteh	(1999-08-05) 5 August 1999 (age 24)	0	0	RFS	v. Mali, 28 March 2023

FW	Lamin Jallow	(1994-07-22) 22 July 1994 (age 29)	19	1	CR Belouizdad	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
FW	Dembo Darboe	(1998-08-17) 17 August 1998 (age 25)	5	0	Astana	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
FW	Musa Juwara	(2001-12-26) 26 December 2001 (age 22)	1	0	Vejle	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
FW	Adama Bojang	(2004-05-28) 28 May 2004 (age 19)	0	0	Reims	2023 Africa Cup of Nations ^PRE
FW	Pa Adama Jallow	(1999-05-08) 8 May 1999 (age 24)	12	0	Grenoble	v. Ivory Coast, 20 November 2023
FW	Ibrahim Jammeh	(1994-01-03) 3 January 1994 (age 30)	6	0	Al-Markhiya	v. Mali, 28 March 2023
^WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue. ^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. ^PRE Preliminary squad. ^RET Player has retired from international football. ^SUS Suspended from the national team.

Records

As of 20 November 2023^[10]

Players in bold are still active with Gambia.

Most appearances

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Omar Colley	49	1	2012–present
2	Pa Modou Jagne	43	2	2006–2022
3	Assan Ceesay	39	13	2013–present
3	Bubacarr Sanneh	39	1	2012–present
5	Ebrima Sohna	38	3	2007–2022
6	Musa Barrow	35	6	2018–present
6	Sulayman Marreh	35	1	2011–present
8	Abdou Jammeh	33	2	2006–2015
9	Modou Jobe	31	0	2007–present
10	Ablie Jallow	30	7	2015–present

Top goalscorer

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Assan Ceesay	13	39	0.33	2013–present
2	Ablie Jallow	7	30	0.23	2015–present
3	Momoudou Ceesay	6	16	0.38	2010–2015
3	Musa Barrow	6	35	0.17	2018–present
5	Omar Samba	5	11	0.45	1995–2002
	Jatto Ceesay	5	17	0.29	1994–2007
	Mustapha Jarju	5	26	0.19	2006–2013
8	Samuel Kargbo	3	9	0.33	1994–1996
	Njogu Demba-Nyrén	3	15	0.2	2006–2011
	Edrissa Sonko	3	16	0.19	1996–2008
	Aziz Corr Nyang	3	17	0.18	2002–2011
	Bubacarr Jobe	3	17	0.18	2018–present
	Mamadou Danso	3	20	0.15	2011–2019
	Ebrima Ebou Sillah	3	24	0.13	1996–2008
	Ebrima Sohna	3	38	0.08	2007–2022

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup									Qualification
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1950	Part of United Kingdom								Part of United Kingdom
1954 to 1966	Not a FIFA member								Not a FIFA member
1970 to 1978	Did not enter								Did not enter
1982	Did not qualify								2	0	1	1	2	1
1986	Did not qualify								2	1	0	1	3	6
1990	Did not enter								Did not enter
1994	Withdrew								Withdrew
1998	Did not qualify								2	1	0	1	2	5
2002									2	0	0	2	0	3
2006									2	1	0	1	2	3
2010									6	2	3	1	6	3
2014									6	1	1	4	4	11
2018									2	0	1	1	2	3
2022									2	0	0	2	1	3
2026	To be determined								2	0	0	2	2	5
2030									To be determined
2034									To be determined
Total	–	0/14	–	–	–	–	–	–	28	6	6	16	24	43

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1963	Part of United Kingdom
1965	Not affiliated to CAF
1968 to 1974	did not enter
1976	did not qualify
1978	did not enter
1980 to 1988	did not qualify
1990	Withdrew
1992	did not qualify
1994	did not enter
1996	Withdrew during qualifying
1998	Banned for withdrawing in 1996
2000	Withdrew
2002 to 2013	did not qualify
2015	Banned
2017	did not qualify
2019	did not qualify
2021	Quarter-finals	6th	5	3	1	1	4	3
2023	Group stage	23rd	3	0	0	3	2	7
2025	to be determined
2027	to be determined
Total	Quarter-finals	2/33	8	3	1	4	6	10

Honours

Amilcar Cabral Cup
- Runners-up (3): 1980, 1985, 2001

References

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

External links

Official website of the Gambian Football Federation
Gambia at CAF
Gambia at FIFA

[FIFA_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-2] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.

[3] "The Gambia". FIFA. Retrieved 4 August 2023.

[4] "World Football Elo Ratings: Gambia". World Football Elo Rankings. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2019.

[5] "Gambia – List of International Matches". Rsssf.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2012.

[6] "Gambia v Lesotho, 13 October 2002". 11v11.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2020.

[7] "The Gambia disqualified from all Caf competitions". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.

[8] "Gambia National Stadium". Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.

[9] "Final Squad" (PDF). CAF Online.

[10] "Gambia". National Football Teams.

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

v t e Gambia national football team
General	Gambia Football Association History Managers Honours
Stadium	Independence Box Bar
Players	Squad
Records and statistics	Results 2020–present
Africa Cup of Nations	Summary 2021 2023
Other teams	U23 U20 U17 Women

North Africa (UNAF)		Algeria Egypt Libya Morocco Tunisia
West Africa (WAFU)	Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo
East Africa (CECAFA)	Burundi Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Somalia South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zanzibar¹
Central Africa (UNIFFAC)	Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo DR Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon São Tomé and Príncipe
Southern Africa (COSAFA)	Angola Botswana Comoros Eswatini Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Seychelles South Africa Zambia Zimbabwe
Non-regional Members	Réunion¹
¹ Regional team, an associate member of CAF but not a member of FIFA Football in Africa portal