BY: Media Officer Foday Jatta

Real de Banjul Football Club can announce that midfielder Foday Darboe has swapped sides by leaving us to join Estonian club Paide Linnameeskond.

The 19-year-old defensive midfielder, who is a versatile player that can also play as a central defender, joined his compatriots and former Real de Banjul teammates, Ebrima Jarju, Bubacarr Tambedou and Ebrima Singhateh, at the Estonian top club.

He joins Paide despite earlier interest from Czech Republic giants Slavia Prague who were also keen in tapping him up.

“Foday is a player with immense qualities as a footballer, since we noticed his talent from day one, we knew he will be a player who can easily take the next step to go and become a professional player and we are happy he now is,” President William Abraham said.

Abraham added: “We had concrete interest in him from Slavia Prague but of course in football, you can never say no to any offer and since we failed to hear from Slavia on time, we thought it was best to have him go start his career playing first team football somewhere than being in a B-team of a big club where it can be 50/50 career wise. So starting from somewhere and going to the top level, for me, is a good start for him.”

Gert Kams, the Paide Sports Director said Foday has been a player they have been monitoring and with his qualities, can be a good addition to their squad saying: “Foday is one of those players who arrived in Paide through our cooperation with Real Banjul. He is a versatile player who can cover different positions on the pitch. He has good defensive qualities and as a modern footballer, he is confident with the ball.”

For his part, Foday said that: “Words are lacking to express my gratitude to Real de Banjul who gave me the chance to show my talents until I started getting noticed by European clubs. I am happy now signing for Paide which is a well-established and structured club with big goals and ambitions. I’m really looking forward to helping the team with my skills and work to move towards reaching our goals.”

Foday will wear jersey number 4 for Paide Linnameeskond who are getting set to face Belgian giants Anderlecht in the Third qualifying round of the 2022/23 UEFA Europa Conference League.

Everyone at Real de Banjul wishes Foday Darboe the best of luck as he starts his professional football career.