By Mustapha Jarju
The Gambia will not take part in this year’s Commonwealth Games, the Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC) and Commonwealth Games Association (CGA) announced on Wednesday.
The Gambia was expected to join other Commonwealth nations in Trinidad but the country’s delegation could not travel on Saturday, 5th August due to what, the President of GNOC, called a systematic failure in the visa application processes.
On 20 June 2023, the GNOC and CGA began the visa application process to enable athletes and delegates to travel through the UK to Trinidad to enable The Gambia to participate in the 7th Commonwealth Games as instructed by CGA.
The Gambia was eyeing medals in beach volleyball and para-athletics.
“During the application process, it was confirmed that the visas will be completed within 5 to 15 days. After 10 days of tracking, the GNOC/CGA contacted the president of CGF of Africa to inform her about the delay in receiving the passports and that was when the passports were released,” the President of GNOC, Beatrice Allen, told journalists in a press briefing held at the Olympics House in Bakau.
According to GNOC, The Gambia has already missed the scheduled flight at the time of the arrival of the passports.
“The GNOC/CGA tried rebooking from London but were advised that there was only one weekly flight to Trinidad. It was at this point that the committee resorted to going via Air France from Dakar to Panama and Trinidad,”Mrs. Allen informed reporters.
She said the Gambian delegation could travel with Air France without a transit visa. GNOC prexy pointed out that the delegation needed only an attestation to board Air France. The attestation, she went on, was provided by the CGF organizing committee following which Air France gave clearance for travel.
“A new booking was made two days after the passports were received and they (athletes) left for Dakar to take their flight from Dakar with Air France to travel via Panama. At check-in, Air France requested for another attestation for Panama. And the CGF provided that attestation from Copa American Airline and by the time the attestation arrived, they (the Gambian athletes) missed the flight to Paris,” rued the GNOC president.
Madam Allen added that the GNOC delegation spent two days in a hotel in Senegal, waiting for the next available flight. The Copa American Airline, she disclosed, sent an email giving clearance to Air France, confirming that the Immigration of Panama has cleared the delegation to travel to Trinidad via Panama.
She said her office alerted the NOC of Panama, whichconfirmed that the Immigration Department of Panama had given clearance to Air France’s office in Dakar, for the delegation to travel on Saturday 5th August. The delegation, she continued, returned to the airport butwas denied boarding the flight by Air France because Panama should have written to them directly, refusing to read the communication that was sent.
Madam Allen said the delegation was treated in a very degrading and humiliating manner.
Consequently, the GNOC decided that the delegation return home and according to GNOC President, it wasregrettable that Gambian athletes go through a lot of problems when they have to travel for sports competitions due to visa processes.
“The GNOC/CGA would like to apologize to the athletes and their parents for the cancellation of their travel to Trinidad but this was the best decision taken because competitions had already started and there was no point continuing on their journey,”Mrs. Allen stated.