The Gambian Football Federation apologizes to the Confederation of African Football, as well as to the Local Organizing Committee of can2021 following the dubious statements of its coach Tom Saintfiet on the six players who would occupy the same room.
The Full Communiqué of the Gambia Football Federation
"Following comments from our head coach, Mr Tom Saintfeit about the Gambia team's accommodation at La Vallée de Bana Hotel during a pre-match press conference at Tagidor Garden Resort today, the Gambia Football Association (GFF) would like to provide the following clarifications:
Mr. Saintfiet was responding to a question from one of the journalists about the team's accommodation.The coach reportedly said in the media that six players were sharing a room at the height of a global coronavirus pandemic.However, what the coach meant was that at the aforementioned hotel there are apartments and in one of the apartments there is a main entrance with three separate bedrooms with two players in each of the rooms, the six being obliged to share a single toilet and bathroom.
He was expressing concern that in a tournament where CAF rules state that if a player tests positive for Covid19, his roommate will automatically miss the upcoming match for which the roommate has tested positive.Thus, that six players share a sanitation, therefore, risks the health of the players concerned.In this regard, the coach's words were taken out of context and he did not insinuate that six players shared a single room.
In addition, the GFF would like to clarify that, just as in the case of Cape Verde, which shares the same hotel with us, Malawi, Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe before us, with the exception of four officials, the players and staff both share people in a room with a single bed.CAF has made the same arrangements for all national teams participating in the Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations 2021 and no team is treated better than the other.
Also, contrary to a report where the coach would have admitted tonight to the Cameroonian authorities that what he had said at the press conference was not true.We would like to make it clear, unequivocally, that until the time we issued this press release, Mr. Saintfiet did not speak to any media or individual about it apart from what he had already said at the above-mentioned press conference.Thus, the quotes attributed to him are false.
Finally, the GFF would like to apologize to the Local Organizing Committee and the Confederation of African Football as well as to any party or individual who may have been offended by the Coach's remarks.Neither the Coach nor the Federation intends to sabotage the organization of a competition where we have sent the signal to the whole continent and the world that we are a force to be reckoned with. »
