The Gambia has been admitted as a new member of the Badminton World Federation, just over a year after it was introduced to Gambians in an extra ordinary congress.
The Gambia is the 195th member of the federation.
The approval for the admission was made at the BWF council meeting on 13th July 2020 which now means Gambia will participate in the forthcoming BWF virtual annual general meeting slated 18th July 2020.
Abdoulie Ceesay, President of the Gambia badminton association said the admission has already placed Gambia on the world map. “This is a great achievement for the country and the badminton fraternity. It puts the name of our country out there on the world stage, “he tells The Chronicle.
“This will better encourage more potential badminton players to come forward knowing well that we have an international reputation. This also meant the work has just begun for us, we need to work harder in promoting and developing badminton in the country.”
Badminton is not quite popular in The Gambia. The racket-swinging sport is less popular than football and volleyball even on the continent.
In a bid to make the sport soar and attract new players, the association recently donated some badminton equipment’s to the University of the Gambia sports association and the Gambia College. This according to Ceesay, is to empower the young ones that are keen to make badminton a career. “Not only do we donate these equipment’s to them, but we will also monitor their progress time to time to ensure progress.”