Former Gambian and England international Cherno Samba is leading the charge for scouting football talents in The Gambia through SPOCS.
SPOCS is a private agency for scouting and recruiting football players.
The Cherno Samba-led five-day footballer scouting exercise commenced on Tuesday at the GFF National Technical Training Center (NTTC) in Old Yundum.
The weeklong exercise has attracted clubs of different categories.
Mr. Samba was delighted by the talents he saw.
“I’m very happy with what happened today. We saw at least three players, and with the right help, they can have a career in the game. That is why I thought of having been going to other countries, I thought of bringing it to my own country where I was born. I’m glad some of my partners and clubs are here. There are more comings today,” Samba said in an interview with the GFF.
He expressed optimism about a bright future for The Gambia, considering the talents in the country and its growing popularity as a destination for talent scouts.
Project partner Sascha Empacher said their goal is to scout the best talents in the country.
“We got Adama Bojang and Dembo Saidykhan to Stade de Reims and Vanccouba White Caps, respectively. This is why we are here to scout for new talents. Africa is a continent of sports, and since we spotted Muhammed Salah and Baba Rahman, we have taken many players to Europe, Asia, and Arab countries. Now we’re doing a scouting program, which is so intense like nobody did before. In the last eight weeks, I have been to Nigeria twice, Ghana and Zambia. We’re now in The Gambia, and we’ll be going to Cameroon. Our mission is to get the very best players from the grassroots to the professional league,” he said.
The Director of SPOCS in Nigeria Agbejoye Gbenga Victor told the GFF Media that Gambian players are “very” talented and praised the partnership between SPOCS and the GFF.
“Gambian football is taking the lead in Africa and I am saying this because of the quality of talents in the U-17 and U-20 I think in the next two years Gambia will be the face of African football, and kudos to the Gambia Football Federation,” he stated.