‘All Gambians are proud’ – Ceesay praises support from President Barrow & speaks on Gambia’s Afcon aspirations

Gambia forward Assan Ceesay say his countrypeople back home are proud and happy of the national team exploits at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, and spoke sweetly of the support from their President, Adama Barrow, all through their campaign so far.

Gambia, ranked 150 in the world, are playing at the Nations Cup for the first time in their history. As debutants, however, they have surpassed expectations and made giant kills in Cameroon.

They won two of their three group stage games and finished second in a group that comprised Mali, Tunisia and Mauritania.

A 1-0 win over Mauritania in their opening game set the tone. They then grabbed a late draw against one-time runners-up Mali before stunning former champions Tunisia 1-0 in their final group game. But there was more to come.

They would further upset the odds to reach the quarterfinals – beating 1976 finalists Guinea – a team ranked 69 places above them – 1-0 to reach the last eight. It’s been a terrific run for the small West African nation and Ceesay says Gambians all over are “proud” and “happy.”

“Everybody didn’t expect this,” said Ceesay while speaking exclusively with Omasports. “But it is football – you work, you believe in yourself and you don’t know where you end up. Right now we are here and all the Gambians are proud, they are happy. They believe in this team and they are behind us. Every moment of this beautiful tournament we are doing our best and we hope to go further, that’s our aim.

“We are so happy that we are at this stage of the tournament,” he continued. “Sometimes football is unpredictable. You just do your work and believe in yourself and you might see yourself somewhere you never expected. We are trying to go as high as we can so we keep going and believing in ourselves.”

Surely now, the Gambians have the belief and are brimming with confidence? Anyway, Ceesay says despite the belief within the squad they aren’t thinking ahead of themselves but intend to take it “game by game.”

“So we were trying to get out of the group stage and we got out and now we are in the last 16, we go out we beat Guinea, and now we are in the quarterfinals. So we are trying to go to the semifinals. We are not yet looking to the final but we are looking to the semifinal. We are in the quarterfinals and we are trying to go to the next stage. We take it game by game because that’s the most important thing. You cannot think about the final when you have not yet won your game in front of you.”

Even so, it remains to be seen if Gambia can go all the way. One thing has been on display all through their campaign though: team work. They have been quite difficult to break down, with one conceded goal in four matches laying credence to that. Ceesay owes it all to the respect the team members have for their tactics.

“We are together,” said the 27-year-old. “We are all ready to fight for the nation and we respect our tactics. We do what we have to do, we train what we have to train. When we come to the field, we try to run for everybody, help each other and communicate. And we believe that together we are going to achieve something that the country will be proud of. Together we can achieve all our goals and make history in this Afcon.”

However, their aspirations will face its toughest test yet when they face hosts and title favourites, Cameroon in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions, who are chasing a sixth Afcon title, are in fine form – they’ve unsurprisingly powered through to the quarterfinals, scoring nine goals in the process and look primed to go all the way.

But the Scorpions, while acknowledging that facing Cameroon will be a difficult challenge, are determined to frustrate them.

“They have the best attack in this tournament. They saw that they are the favourites, they saw that they are the hosts. It’s going to be a difficult game but it is football. We just come and try to play our game, respect our tactics, and try to penetrate their defence. Yes they have a good attack but we’ll try to frustrate them and get what we want.

“It’s football, nothing is impossible. We respect them 100%. They have good players, they have top players, they have the best attack. But we are coming to do something. We are not here to just play Afcon and go back home, we are here to raise our flag high. So we come with full confidence, give them the respect they deserve but inside the field we will try to play our game as they try to play theirs.”

Irrespective of what happens on Saturday, the Scorpions have raised their country flag so high already. As newcomers, they are having a fantastic campaign and are now just two match-wins away from reaching the final. Their performances so far have earned them support from fans on field and they have gotten just as much off it.

Ceesay says the country’s President, Adama Barrow, has been there every step of the way and the entire team is proud and happy, and motivated to give their all for the nation.

“We received message from our president, every time we win a team or go to another state,” the forward said, when asked if they received any message from their President. “He’s in contact with us and we are so proud and happy that he is there. He is there to support the nation and support us and we will do our best because we see what the country is giving. But we will not let it get in our heads because this is a tournament, we are here to do something.

“Look to the media what they are saying, how they are praising us. This is the first time to come here and make such a run and we are trying to continue the run and try to focus on the most important thing.”

The Scorpions of Gambia winning bonus for the game against Cameroon on Saturday has now been increased from $10,000 to $20,000 for each player.

The Gambia are upsetting the odds in Cameroon, the players are displaying their value and the eyes of the world are upon them.

Ceesay, who plays for FC Zurich in the Swiss Super League, feels this is an opportunity for the team players to showcase their talent and their success may help them secure moves to bigger clubs in Europe, which is widely considered as a dream for most football players. However, he says the knowledge that football agents could be watching shouldn’t distract the players from their ultimate goal as a team.

“This is an opportunity for all the players and Gambia because if we come here and show ourselves we might have a bright future and for us to be able to move to a higher stage. It all depends on our performance where we end up on individual performance.

“As for now we are in the process, the process will continue, and the agents watching, they will watch and choose their players but for us we just focus on our game because every player needs to focus on your game before you think that someone is watching you outside.”

So far in the knockout stage, seven red cards have been shown – the last-16 match between Gambia and Guinea saw two. There’s also been the issue of Covid-19 disrupting teams’ preparations.

But Cessay isn’t worried about all that. He says they have already done their test and hopes everything will be fair on the pitch with regards to officiating.

“Hopefully, everything will be good for the referee and he’ll make the right decisions, and we’ll play a fair game.”

Gambia and Cameroon will go head-to-head for a place in the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations in Yaounde on Saturday.

Watch video of interview below: