Gambia Basketball Association public relations officer Sandigie Njie has called on all for the restoration of Gambia basketball following the just concluded 3-on-3 competition held at the basketball court at the Independence Stadium in Bakau.
The discipline, revived recently by the Gambia Basketball Association (GBA), has just kicked off with a massive participation after it had suffered from huge dormancy for many years.
PRO Sandigie Njie is calling for more participants to showcase their talents in the discipline which is set to commence its league in February.
Revealing the strategies for the development of the game in the country, Njie outlines their priorities in transforming the game from the grassroots level to produce and recruit potential athletes with global competitive age.
Reflecting on the current position of the discipline together with its partners on its road map, Njie says they have managed to provide strategic leadership and direction towards access, development, success, quality and excellence in basketball and recreation.
In an interview with The Point, he says the revival of the sport has provided the sector with a new paradigm which is guiding and directing their efforts into a new service delivery.
This has sparked a grassroots movement into basketball where a huge movement of activists, administrators, technocrats, educators, women, youth and the elderly, as well as politicians, would have to show interest, he said.
Basketball as a platform, he outlines, is one of the most significant cohesive factors in the nation, whilst it demonstrates its own measurable social and economic values which should be pursued.
Coaching and the development of sporting skills are key elements in any successful sport system and in the international level, he says.
"There is a need to explore all possible means to ensure that the coaches and referees are kept abreast with the latest technology, research, techniques and developments to provide athletes with a competitive edge," he noted.
He however commented on the decentralization of the game throughout the nation to uncover productive professional athletics for the development of the game. In collaboration with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, he says they are closely working in developing the game in the schools where they would be able to trace good talented athletes who would emerge as future professionals.
He thanked the US Embassy for its continued support and sponsors such West Coast, Africell, Skye Bank and others for their tireless boost in developing the game in the country.
He further appealed to the media to contribute their quota by ensuring news about the discipline and its games is disseminated countrywide.
