The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) has finally spoken about a proposed friendly match agreed with Bolivia for last week (immediately after the Afcon match in Ghana) that did not go ahead allegedly after Gambia failed honour the fixture.
The Bolivian football federation in a statement blamed the GFF for the saga and threatened to demand compensations for expenditures already made.
However according to the GFF from the onset, this proposed fixture was negotiated through a match agent and was never a direct Federation-to-Federation arrangement.
The full statement from Football House on the matter reads: ”Under the final terms of our agreement, the Bolivia Football Federation (FBF), as the inviting host, explicitly assumed responsibility for key logistics, including return flight tickets, accommodation, local transport, stadium, and training facilities. The contract explicitly required both federations to coordinate travel arrangements.
Regrettably, the FBF acted unilaterally and booked flights without prior consultation or coordination. That reason and the following advanced our decision not to go ahead with this proposed friendly:
Inappropriate routing
The Bolivian Federation booked our delegation on flights from Accra to Buenos Aires, Argentina—despite the match being scheduled in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, nearly 1,900 kilometres (1,250 miles) away. No information or arrangements were provided for onward travel from Buenos Aires to Santa Cruz and back.
Incomplete return travel
Return flights were booked only to Accra, Ghana, leaving our players and staff without onward transportation to their final destinations and clubs, directly threatening compliance with Fifa regulations on player return timelines.
Incomplete Fifa compliance
Both federations never signed the required Tier 1 match forms governing international friendlies, so Fifa never granted the mandatory approval for the match to proceed.
These critical logistical flaws were further highlighted when our players raised genuine concerns about the grueling physical toll of this travel schedule, coming immediately after two strenuous competitive matches against Somalia and Ghana.
When the GFF officially notified the agent of our withdrawal on Monday, 28th September, the response on 1st October was a set of one-way air tickets to Accra—tickets that were logistically impossible to utilise under the circumstances.
As a federation, our primary duty of care is to the welfare, health, and psychological well-being of our National Team players. The uncertainty and logistical disorder surrounding the travel to Bolivia created an unacceptable distraction, shifting our squad’s focus away from our crucial competitive fixture against Ghana.
Faced with these persistent failures to align with our contract and the imperative to protect our team’s integrity, the GFF made the prudent and necessary decision to prioritise our competitive commitments and safeguard our squad.
We thank our Gambian public, partners and stakeholders for their continued support and understanding”.