Gambiaj.com – (Banjul, The Gambia) – In the wake of the tragic road accident involving The Gambia’s Under-16 basketball team en route to an international tournament in Guinea, Minister of Youth and Sports Bakary Y. Badjie has defended the government’s role, clarifying that the incident was not a result of ministerial failure but of independent decisions taken by the Gambia Basketball Association (GBA).
The accident, which sparked a wave of public outrage and criticism directed at the ministry and government, occurred as the young national team traveled by road to Conakry for the FIBA Zone II U16 Championship. Several players were injured, with questions quickly raised about why the team undertook such a long and perilous journey by road.
Responding to the backlash, Minister Badjie stated, “Every sport association in the country manages its participation at international competitions and makes its own travel arrangements—not the ministry.”
He explained that sport associations like the GBA are autonomous entities, not directly managed by the ministry or its implementing agency, the National Sports Council (NSC).
Instead, the ministry plays a supervisory role within the bounds of national and international sports regulations and typically only gets involved at the macro-policy level or in providing funding where possible.
The minister said while the government often provides financial assistance to associations, the responsibility for planning logistics—including the means of travel—rests squarely with the associations themselves.
“Most times, we at the ministry get to know about an association’s impending travel when they write to the NSC requesting funding. Where we provide funding, it is paid to the associations to cater for their travels, accommodation, and allowances by themselves,” he stated.
He also addressed widespread claims that the GBA had submitted a D2 million dalasi budget for air travel, which the government allegedly rejected.
He categorically denied this, saying, “The budget submitted to us from the NSC was D1.2 million. Upon review, the ministry provided one million dalasis to the GBA. This essentially covered the entire cost as per their plan.”
Minister Badjie also pointed out the challenges of air travel in West Africa, especially within the subregion, where direct flights are scarce, transits are long, and costs are prohibitive. These limitations, he said, have led many teams—including those from neighboring countries—to resort to road travel.
Nonetheless, the minister acknowledged the tragedy as a critical wake-up call. He said the ministry is working on regulatory reforms aimed at closing the gap in oversight.
These reforms, he revealed, are anchored in a newly finalized National Sports Bill, which is set to be tabled before the National Assembly.
“We will take immediate actions to prepare enforceable regulations that will mandate sport associations to submit annual plans to the NSC, seek approval before registering teams into regional competitions, and have travel plans reviewed before financial support is granted.”
The accident involving the U16 basketball team is the second such incident reported in a year involving Gambian national sports delegations traveling by road under risky circumstances, highlighting the broader structural gaps in sports governance.
The ministry’s intervention comes after widespread calls for accountability and a serious review of the country’s sports travel and safety protocols. Minister Badjie’s remarks, while defending the ministry’s role, also signal a shift toward greater regulatory control over sports associations’ international engagements.
