By Lamarana S. Jallow
As the renovation and remodeling the country’s only Independence Stadium in Bakau gets underway, the Government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Youth and Sports has announced intention to rename the pavilions after some prominent sports personalities after the completion of the work that kicked off recently.
This announcement came after the Minister of Youth and Sports, Honourable Bakary Y. Badjie undertook a conducted tour of works currently taking place at the stadium.
Minister Badjie emphasised that the ban on the stadium is a major concern to the Government of The Gambia over the last months and that since the ban took effect, the government through his ministry has been working tirelessly to make sure that “we get what is needed - which are funds and the right people and right companies to do the job”.
He said that over the months they have been given a deadline which was September and it is important to shed light on that because people have always asked questions.
“Projects by nature, especially technical projects like this require lot of planning and consultation and these took a lot of time,’’ he said.
He explained that when the government was making its budget estimates of projects for 2022, the issue of the stadium was never there. He said because an assessment was done which estimated millions, it was technically and financially difficult for government to do so because it was not part of the budget at the Ministry.
Mr. Badjie disclosed that if the renovation work progresses as expected, the Scorpions might host their next qualifiers against Mali in March 2023 in The Gambia.
The Hon Minister informed that the entire pitch will have to be removed and replaced with a new type of grass. Similarly, individual seats and seats for VIP will be installed, and the entire electricity and plumbing systems will be replaced with modern ones. The toilets and the media center will be upgraded to be replaced with standard equipment, dressing rooms for local and international matches will be separated, medical room to be remodeled amongst others.
He noted that the remodeling and renovation will cost the Government of The Gambia hundred and sixty million Dalasis.
CAF has banned the Independence Stadium from hosting football matches for the senior national because it failed to meet the recommended CAF standard. This decision has forced The Gambia to play its home matches on foreign soil.
