School sports lessons – a project report from Gambia

The Gambian Government and the German Foreign Office seek to enhance Gambia's sports structures. Walter Abmayr, on behalf of the German Foreign Office, prepared the project by analysing and evaluating the existing structures. Based on this analysis, the National Sports Programme of Action 2009-2020 was launched.
Enlarge image School sports ground outside Banjul (© Walter Abmayr) The International Sports Promotion supports the Gambian Government’s efforts to subject the country’s sports structures to a root-and-branch reform and to make sports lessons compulsory in schools. On behalf of the German Foreign Office, the German sports expert Walter Abmayr travelled to Gambia to survey that country’s structures. In 2010, in cooperation with the relevant Gambian authorities, he will hold several courses, laying the foundation for enhancing popular sports in Gambia. The following project report recounts Mr Abmayr’s impressions from Gambia and the state of preparations on the ground.

An analysis of sports in Gambia was made as part of a short-term measure in October 2009. The DOSB expert nominated on behalf of the German Foreign Office, Walter Abmayr (University of Heidelberg), was tasked with analysing the existing sports structures. During several meetings with representatives of Gambian sports, the partner’s major task was described under the National Sports Programme of Action 2009–2020, in which Gambia seeks to markedly upgrade its sports structures and the level of sports performance by 2020.

In October Mr Abmayr had already agreed with his partners, the Ministry for Youth and Sport, the National Sports Council and the Gambia National Olympic Committee, on a basic structure for the possible improvement of sports administration. At the same time initial measures were drawn up for the establishment and further development of sports in Gambia.

The high‑level political interest in the 2009–2020 Programme of Action made it possible, among other things, for the responsible Ministries for Youth and Sport and Basic and Secondary Education, as well as the Gambia Teacher Training College, to be brought around a table in a very short time. They quickly found common ground and agreed on the relevant cooperation.
Enlarge image Future sports field (© Walter Abmayr) Sports lessons compulsory in Gambian primary schools

An initial success – the Minister for Basic and Secondary Education promised that, following two basic sports-trainer courses for primary-school teachers at Easter and in October/November 2010, sports lessons would become compulsory in Gambia’s primary schools.

The DOSB, on behalf of the German Foreign Office, sent two experts, Hans‑Peter Thumm and Walter Abmayr, to the Easter course from 25 March to 8 April. Alongside the primary-school teacher course, a donation of sports equipment from the German Foreign Office/DOSB will assist sports training at the Gambia Teacher Training College and certainly make it more lively and interesting.

The staff restructuring at the National Sports Council has been a major step towards implementing the planned measures to reform sports in Gambia.
With talent-scouting programmes and the creation of a nationwide, cross-discipline competition system, the next steps have already been planned to aid Gambia’s broad-based sports development.