Volleyball Empowerment sparks volleyball popularity in Gambia

The FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme has had a huge impact in Gambia, with volleyball skyrocketing in popularity following the support provided to the Gambia Volleyball Association (GVA).

Volleyball Empowerment aims to help national teams and athletes reach their full potential and achieve their goals. In particular, Gambian volleyball has benefitted from both coach support and volleyball equipment support, with the FIVB investing a total of 170,000 CHF.

As part of the transformational programme, a synthetic Gerflor floor was laid at Gambia’s most famous volleyball cathedral, the Independence Stadium in Banjul, Gambia’s capital.

In addition, Gambia has received both indoor and beach volleyball balls, two floors as well as nets and net systems. According to GVA President Bai Dodou Jallow the synthetic floor has improved the quality of volleyball in the National League, in turn drawing a huge number of fans to the sport.

“This floor has had a very big impact on the players. Previously you couldn’t see actions like diving and other movements on the court such as quick attacks because players were limited by the concrete floor. It has really helped volleyball become more appealing and changed the outlook of the game in Gambia which has drawn a lot of spectators to the sport,” said a beaming Jallow.

Fans at the Independence Stadium in Banjul for the final match of 2021 CAVB Zone II Nations Championship between Gambia and Senegal (Photo credits: GVA)

“We use most of the balls for national team training and international competitions that we host. We have also distributed some of the volleyballs we received from FIVB to our national clubs. The equipment has been of great help to our teams since in our region it’s very difficult to get hold of quality volleyballs. This equipment has helped us sustain the gains we have had in recent years and boosted our volleyball infrastructure. Our clubs can now train with quality volleyballs which is a big motivation for them,” added Jallow.

Gambia hosted the CAVB Zone II Nations Championship at the Independence Stadium in 2021, where their men’s national team won gold while the women’s team settled for silver behind Senegal. The large crowds that attend international competitions hosted in the country have made the Gambian national teams nearly unbeatable at home, catching the attention of President Adama Barrow.

“The synthetic floor has helped us to host big competitions since it’s comfortable to play on. Whenever the national team is playing people turn up in their numbers since volleyball is now a very popular sport in Gambia only rivaled by football.

“Whenever our President is talking about sports either at the National Assembly or in big political rallies, he has to mention volleyball and football. Government is now a big supporter of volleyball and last year we had our U21 men being supported to play in the CAVB U21 Championship in Tunisia for the first time,” said Jallow hinting that Gambia will for the first time, field both senior men’s and women’s teams at this year’s African Nations Championship in August.

President of the Republic of Gambia Adama Barrow (second left) poses with national beach volleyball team players when he hosted them at his residence after winning the African Games Rabat 2019. (Photo credits: GVA)

But even as the game grows in leaps and bounds, they continue to face the challenge that come with playing volleyball on outdoor courts. Jallow is confident that this will be a thing of the past as soon as the government completes construction of an indoor facility at the Independence Stadium.

“We have already received information that the Gerflor taraflex floor for indoor volleyball is in the process of being shipped. We have already identified one indoor facility that is under construction and plan to lay it there once it’s complete. It is still under construction, but we have engaged some of our partners like the Italian and UAE National Federations, who we have signed MOUs with, to help us in completing it since it’s only the roof remaining.

“We have received positive feedback from them, and we are also optimistic that our Ministry of Sports will contribute. This floor and net system will help our players to acclimatise to playing indoors, which will be a big boost to our national teams in preparation for international competitions,” said Jallow.