FOROYAA Newspaper (Serrekunda)
15 July 2011
The Kanifing team of Gambia Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing cruised to a 4-1 thumping of their Brikama counterparts in a fund raising football match.
A slightly overcast and wet Saturday afternoon on July 2nd saw a large number of the deaf and hard of hearing community turned out in force to watch the clash of the Gambia Deaf Sports Association teams at the Banjul Mini Sports Stadium.
The match which was supported by the Banjul Breweries and the Banjul Sports Association, was a spectacle, as both teams put up an awesome performance.
Lamin Ceesay, the President of Gambia Deaf Sports Association, GDSA, explained that everything about deaf football is the same as football for hearing people. The only difference is that, as well as the referee having a whistle, which the hard of hearing people can’t hear, he also needs to have a flag to give a visual signal to the players. As soon as there is a foul, the referee has to quickly wave the flag to alert the players to stop playing. In the event of a foul, the referee needs to be smart and quick to act, otherwise play continues and a goal might be scored.
The clash of the two teams was officiated by referee Momodou Sanyang, and the coaches were Ousman Sainey for Brikama and Alhaji Jaju for KMC.
Mr. Ebou Faye of the Banjul Sports Association congratulated the players on their participation, and he and his colleagues awarded 3 sports kits as prizes to the best players. Abdoulie Njie, was named as best midfielder, while Bakary Mendy emerged as the best defender.
The event was not only a good day out for both players and spectators, but served a more serious purpose too. It helped raise money to support the Gambia Federation of the Disabled, the umbrella advocacy body working on behalf of people with disabilities in the Gambia, and it raised awareness of the skills of people with disabilities, this time in the sporting arena.
As one of the onlookers commented, “These players are just as good at football as anyone else. It’s impressive to see how they communicate and manage to work together as a team without being able to hear fully.” Hopefully that was the understanding that many of the Banjulians and supporters took away with them. It was a positive event, and demonstrated once again that having a disability doesn’t mean that you have to limit your abilities.
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