The one-week Women in Sports Festival with the theme, "Promoting Women and Girls in Football" got underway on Saturday with a day-long programme at the GFA Technical Training Centre in Yundum. The event is organised by the Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC) in collaboration with The Gambia Football Association (GFA), and sponsored bySamsung.

This year's festival is meant to create awareness on the importance of mainstreaming women and girls in football by exposing their talents and hearing their voices on how football has made an impact in their lives. The programme also includes football matches at the district, regional and national levels, as well as with schools in Region One.

Speaking at the gathering as he officially launched the festival, Alhaji Momodou Dibba, the president of the GNOC revealed that this year's festival is the third of its kind in The Gambia by the NOC, and the first undertaken by his leadership. He added that the event will be annual. He expressed hope that the event will help in gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in the country. He said that the event has marked a great achievement by the GNOC. He also brought into focus the importance of the participation of women in sports.

According to Momodou Dibba, more and more women are now emulating the "dynamic first vice president of the GNOC" Beatrice Allen by taking up more and more positions at sporting institutions. He added that the involvement of women in football is not only by way of physical activity but is also a social activity.

He further stated that in his institution's stride to increase the activities of women in sports, they have decided to give women Physical Education more priority to integrate them into the sporting associations. He noted that past women who have made achievements in sports have been remembered at the GNOC Hall of Fame and Merits. He added that he has seen the enthusiasm in the participants and that has to show that they will no longer allow men to dominate them in sports. He said that the GNOC will do everything in its powers to make sure that young girls are encouraged and empowered.

Dibba explained that they chose football because the GFA has been very systematic and has developed projects that were marked with success. He therefore challenged all the other sporting associations to take full advantage of the GNOC's mainstreaming in women. He applauded the GFA and pledged his continuous cooperation with them while he also thanked the entire members of the GNOC Women Commission. He reserved his sincere thanks and gratitude to the Samsung Group for their "massive financial assistant to the NOC for the programme." He also thanked the government of The Gambia under the leadership of the president, Sheikh Professor Dr Alhaji Yahya AJJ Jammeh for his laudable support given to sports in the country.

Speaking earlier, the first vice president of the GNOC and the country's only International Olympic Committee member, Beatrice Allen who chaired the ceremony challenged the participants to try to integrate the knowledge gained in sports. She added that women can be integrated into football but the hope of the festival is for the legacy to carry on forever where those who gained the knowledge today can pass onto the next generation. She finally thanked the GFA for their support, the president of the GNOC and the entire Executive Bureau.

Delivering his official remarks, the president of the GFA, Seedy Kinteh said it was a great pleasure and honor to be associated with "this very important programme aimed at raising the profile of women's football in The Gambia and a great day of celebration of the giant strides made by the Gambia National Olympic Committee."

He added that valuable progress have been registered in terms of public awareness and public interest in women's football and said with the five star performances of army of volunteers, he strongly believe that the future of Gambia women's football is in safe hands. According to Seedy Kinteh, as the Gambia still awaits a major trophy in the African continent, the registration of the U-17 female national team would definitely put the country on the path to qualification and to the finals in the near future. He said the national team comprised of young girls who in a few years time can do greater things for the Gambia.

He added that it is the ultimate wish and aspirations of the FA to broaden the scope of female football especially in communities and would continue to collaborate with major stakeholders such as the GNOC in the furtherance of "this" noble football development agenda. He said the FA highly values the pivotal roles played by women in sports and called on the business community to step up and invest massively in women and girls in football by sponsoring the teams to the maximum.

Seedy Kinteh argued that if girls are given the right tools they need, they can help lift women football to an amazing height. He concluded by assuring that the GFA under his leadership will take whatever means necessary to advance the course of women football in the Gambia before he assured the gathering his unflinching support.

Delivering his welcoming remarks, the chairperson of the GNOC Women in Sports, Mary Samba- Christensen said this year's festival will create awareness of the mainstreaming of women and Girls in football by exposing their talents and hearing their voices on how football has made an impact in their lives. She added that they are with the hope that Saturday's forum on sports and development with special focus on women and girls will bring together sportsmen and women, administrators, general sports veterans, policymakers, local government administrators, regional women and sports committees, religious leaders and the UN system and NGO's.

She added that the forum will take stock of the football policy environment and agree on how to coordinate sports programmes, for the benefit of women and girls. "The togetherness that brings about is already visible in this hall. It was barely a week ago that you met each other and you have acquainted with each other to form a sporting family. I hope together we can all develop women and girls in football," she stated.

She added that the GFA Commission on Women football also launched at the forum will help develop policies and monitor policy implementation and advise the GFA president on factors inhibiting women getting into football. She expressed hope that with these structures in place, there will be more gender-sensitive policies.

The secretary general of the GFA, Jammeh EK Bojang who made a presentation on "the future of women in football" said some women showed their talents in their various sporting disciplines in the pre-independence era but hardly in football largely due to apathy or some instincts that discouraged our females playing or organising the game of football. He added that the barrier of football being male-dominant is almost broken now.

Head coach of Red Scorpions female football team, Choro Mbenga also made a presentation on the role of coaching for women's development in football, while GFA regional coordinator, Modou Fofana had a discussion with the director of the Centre, Bakary Terema Dahaba also on the future of women in football in The Gambia. The second part of the programme was chaired by the secretary general of the GNOC, Peter Prom.