Gambian coach Omar Sise says his target is to win the 2019 West Africa Football Union tournament as he winds down preparations ahead of the kick off on the 28th September in Thies, Senegal. ‘’The objective is to go up to the final and win the cup, Sise tells The Chronicle. ‘’We’ll work very hard to make sure we realize our objective’’
The Young Scorpions will begin their campaign against Ghana, a repeat of the opening match in 2017, where a last gasp penalty gave the Ghanaians a 1-0. ‘’We are well prepared and will go to camp on Monday and we will probably travel to Senegal on Wednesday,” Sise said.
Sixteen teams will play in a knockout tie of eight different matches, with the winners advancing to the group stages of the competition. The tournament’s new format features a knockout competition with the winners of phase one progressing to the Cup competition, while phase one losing teams will compete in the Plate competition.
‘’The only area we need to develop in the team right now is the midfield. We are currently working on how to bring in few foreign based players even though we are not very much sure when they will be with us, our defence is all good’’.
“I have high hopes in this team,” said Ebrima Cham a Gambian football fan. “Coach Omar Sise has been doing very well with the team and he knows how to use these players in the field,” Cham tells The Chronicle. ‘’We should come together as Gambians to support the team to win the cup. They can do it!”.
Each participating team will receive $6000 as participatory fees, while the winner of the tournament pockets $100,000.
The winner of the plate competition will receive $75, 000.
