By Buba Gagigo
Minister of Youth and Sports Bakary Y. Badjie, addressing lawmakers on Wednesday, unveiled the government’s intentions to construct a new stadium capable of accommodating thirty thousand spectators. This announcement was made during a question and answer session with legislators on Wednesday.
“Yes, there are plans to build a new stadium. And in fact, we already have a plan for a thirty – thousand capacity stadium and already identified a venue for it. However, stadiums are expensive, is a capital project that will cost Gambia close to $200 million, or in the minimum $100 plus million, depending on the size that you want. I mean, million dollars I mean. So this is the challenge that we have now. But we are looking at possibilities, and we’ve been discussing with some of our bilateral partners to see how best we can be able to get the support to build a second stadium. And yes, we understand the impact that it can have on our sports development, but also on our young people and even the economy of the country,” Hon. Badjie said.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has banned The Gambia’s Independence Stadium from hosting CAF A Type competition for failure to meet the required standard in a letter dated 16th February 2022.