AFCON2021: Gambia Denies AFCON Accommodation Complaints, Says Coach Was Quoted Out of Context

The Gambian Football Federation has debunked claims that its National Team Head Coach Mr. Saintfiet decried the accommodation they have been offered at the Bana Vallée, in the West Region.

According to multiple reports, Coach Saintfiet is believed to have said 6 players were forced to lodge in the same room and use the same bathrooms.

In a statement published by the Gambian Football Federation, they clarified saying the coach’s words had been misinterpreted. Nevertheless, the GFF said the coach was referring to a common bathroom being used by multiple players rather than bedrooms.

“… There are apartments and in one of them, there is one main entrance with three separate rooms with two players in each of the rooms, and all six of them forced to share a single toilet and bathroom,” the GFF statement read.

The concern of the Head Coach, the GFF opined, was the risks of more of his players contracting Covid-19 if one of them somehow got the virus.

“CAF rules state that if one player tests positive for Covid-19, his roommate will automatically miss the upcoming game as well,” the GFF stated.

GFF also said that no other form of differentiation has been shown to them as opposed to other teams. “CAF has made the same arrangements for all national teams participating in the 2021 Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations and no one team is treated better than the other”.

The federation went on to apologize to the AFCON organizing committee and all who had been offended by the remark. It said “neither the coach nor the Federation has any intention of sabotaging the organization of a competition where we’ve sent a signal to the entire continent and the world that we’re a force to be reckoned with.”