Real de Banjul defender Makaira Tambedou says he grateful to be back and is ready to serve the City Boys who supported his recovery from the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury he suffered. The centre-back, who has now fully recovered from the ACL injury he suffered in 2021, had a successful loan spell at Elite United last season before returning fully fit to play for Real de Banjul where he has seem to have formed a solid partnership with David Sambou at the heart of the defense, as the two marshalled the champions’ back-line with two consecutive clean sheets in two league matches. Speaking to club media after two outstanding outings for the City Boys, the tall, commanding and powerful center, said he is elated to be back playing for the club he feels indebted to. “I feel great to be back playing for Real de Banjul, a club that I can say is the reason why I’m able to play again by helping me do my operation on my knee which was an ACL, so the club deserves my service and I’m willing to be part of the team to defend the championship InshAllah (God willing) with all my heart,” Tambedou said. Makaira feels the clean sheets recorded after the two games are no flukes and they deserved praise for them. He said: “The victories with clean sheets shows how united we are as defenders and how determined we’re during the training, because as the coach will say his weakness is the defenders which is a motivation word for us to work hard as a team. So, we hope we continue working extra hard with the help of the gaffer who’s behind how we play as a back four.” He said going on loan to Elite United last season helped build his confidence and made him ready to return to Real de Banjul: “I never regret going on loan and even more to a second division team, which is Elite United, a club that help me build my confidence back with the help of the coaches there who had the believe in me. Everything paid off and the loan move was the perfect plan for me. So I am good to go as I’m Real For Real!” Head Coach Ebrima Jatta commented on the return of Makaira Tambedou saying that: “When I came to Real de Banjul, he was at home nursing his injury but did pop up time to time to the training ground. He returned last season when he recovered but he was sent on loan at Elite United. Disappointingly for me, I couldn’t watch him play during his loan at Elite United. So he came back (to Real de Banjul) when I’m the head coach, and I was still thinking if he can make the team.” Coach Jatta added: “I even considered sending him back on loan but as we progressed into the preseason, I could see certain qualities in him of which I really like…

Head Coach Ebrima Jatta says being appointed as the gaffer of Real de Banjul is a new beginning in his coaching career as he led the City Boys to an impressive 2-0 victory over Fortune FC in matchday-one of the 2023/24 GFF Division One League season on Saturday at LYDSA. Ebrima Jatta who is fondly known as ‘Giggs’, was promoted to the role of head coach this season after previously serving under Bye Malleh Wadda as assistant coach for two seasons before working with the Estonian coach Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko in the same role last season. “I call this a new beginning in my coaching career to coach one of the biggest clubs in The Gambia in Real de Banjul. I want to thank the Real de Banjul management for the trust,” Jatta said after the game. The Champions roared to a good start to their title defense with two beautiful strikes from exciting full-back Mustapha Nyassi and tricky winger, Alasana Yirajang, to deservedly beat Fortune FC. Despite Jatta guiding the City Boys to a flying start at home, he has that said he isn’t satisfied. “I will never be satisfied because I have a philosophy that I am trying to bring to this club like every other coach have theirs. So, I came with mine. I have to be observant especially in the build up, retention of the ball, how to quickly win the ball back, and the players positional movement in the games. It is going to be difficult playing against Real de Banjul. Real de Banjul are very demanding, they have a very, very clear vision. So, as a coach you’ve a serious responsibility,” he said. He added: “I barely sleep at night. I go bed late and wake up as early as 4:00 am to head for training. We have to work hard, a standard is set and we’ve to maintain it, nothing below that standard is acceptable! You either maintain the standard or move it to a higher level, that is our responsibility as coaches. We’ve to develop these players to be ready for the world market and we’ve to compete in the league and try to win it. These are clear objectives of the club”. Jatta described winning the first league game against Fortune FC as a moral booster but credits the whole coaching staff and team for the victory. “Winning our first game against Fortune which is one of the best teams in the Gambia in terms of performance, is a moral booster. Two goals scored, I compliment the players for that, they worked for it and they got us the goals even though they could’ve scored more if they were more focused. For the clean sheet I will take it together with my technical staff. This is how you want to play at Real de Banjul, this is how you want to defend the championship.” Asked what he makes of debut goals for Mustapha and Alasana, Coach Ebrima Jatta said: “Mustapha Nyassi is…

Real de Banjul is delighted to announce the transfer of talented midfielder Alieu Gibba to Estonian top club Paide Linnameeskond. The 19-year-old skilful midfielder, who featured at the 2023 U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt earlier this year where he guided the Gambia U20 to finish second at the tournament, moves to our partner club in Estonia. Alieu, popularly known as Gaúcho due to his ball-playing skills likened to former Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho, was an integral part in the City Boys scooping its thirteenth GFF League Division One title under Estonian gaffer and former Paide coach in Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko. “We are happy to have another player who leaves us to sign abroad and with Alieu, I knew with the skill and talents he possesses, it wasn’t going to be long for him to move. He is a talented player who did well at the AFCON U20 in Egypt and I’m pleased for him that he’s getting this chance now with our partner club,” Bakary Jammeh, 2nd Vice President of Real de Banjul, said. Gibba meanwhile thanked the club and his teammates for the opportunity and helping in making him better ready for a move abroad. “I want to thank the entire management and executive of Real de Banjul for bringing me into the club and giving me this chance where I am now moving to a foreign club. My teammates have been supportive of me during the season and I cannot thank them enough for that. Also thanks and appreciation goes out to my coaches, Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko and his entire coaching staff,” Gibba said. Alieu will always be remembered for his swagger and calm style of play which always put smiles on the face of the Real de Banjul fans. Everyone at Real de Banjul will like to thank Alieu Gibba for his contribution to the club and wish him well with Paide Linnameeskond and beyond.

Real de Banjul is delighted to announce that it has completed the signing of young talented forward Omar Joof, who joins the club effective immediately. Sukuta-born Omar Joof is an exciting forward who joins us from relegated side Gamtel Football Club and he was over the moon to sign for the best club in the country. “I feel so great and happy to sign for the biggest club in the Gambia. The time I got contacted that Real de Banjul is interested in me, I was so happy and emotional. I said: “Wow, this is so great for my career and it’s great delight that a club like Real is interested in me,” he told the club’s official media. He added: “To be honest, it didn’t take me long to make my final decision and decide to join the club. I sat with my family and discussed the matter with them and I made it clear to them that I want to join Real de Banjul, they applauded me and supported my choice.” The mesmerising forward described signing for the City Boys as a dream come true for him saying that: “The move at first came as a surprise but signing for Real de Banjul is a dream come true for me. I know I was doing well for my former team, Gamtel FC and that’s part of the reasons Real came for me, so I will work so hard to achieve their expectations. I hope I can deliver for the club and from there I can turn professional with the help of the club as that is my dream.” Mr. Bakary K. Jammeh, the 2nd Vice President of Real de Banjul says the club will continue to make the dreams of young talented players come true and it is a delight to welcome Omar into the club. “Real de Banjul always give young players the opportunity to live their dreams of making a career out of football. As a Club, we are happy to welcome Omar Joof to our squad and we will help him grow to be the professional player he wants to be,” Jammeh said. Everyone at Real de Banjul welcomes Omar Joof to the Real de Banjul family with open arms.

Real de Banjul have clinched the Club’s thirteenth GFF League Division One title as their goalless draw against Waa Banjul on the final day was enough for them to finish top of the 2022/2023 league table. The domestic league title that eluded the City Boys since the 2013/2014 season has been finally captured amid a dramatic fashion, as the Whites spent much of the season chasing Falcons FC before they overtook the Abuko-based side in the second to last game of the season. Estonian head coach Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko and his charges’ superior goal difference to Falcons turned out to be the difference as their draw against Waa Banjul was enough to clinch the title despite Falcons’ final day 4-2 victory over Steve Biko. The City Boys got their crown and colourful coronation at a packed full KG5-Mini Stadium in Banjul, a befitting atmosphere for the City Boys to claim their title. Zahovaiko who was brought in this season to replace club legend Bye Malleh Wadda, led to the City Boys to conquer the top-tier Gambian league was elated after the City Boys are crowned champions in Banjul. “I would’ve love to take all the the credit but I cannot. I am not alone, I had very good staff who helped me everyday. We also have very good and talented players, they did an excellent job. Nice journey with ups and downs but at the final stage (of the season) we showed real willpower, I’m so proud of the team. Congratulations to the whole club, to the President and all the management, it’s a nice feeling,” Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko said. Despite spending much of the season below the top of the league table, Zahovaiko, nicknamed ‘Slava’, credits the secret behind the team’s success to the following saying that: “When I first came, we set goals and one of the biggest goals was good training process, hard work, I think those are some of our secrets, actually we didn’t lose hope we always fight.” Zahovaiko added: “Actually there was some moments we thought now everything is gone, but suddenly everything changed and I am really happy that the boys took it (win the league). We have great staff, we have best Presidents (club management), they supported us from the first day and the players, they did the job because they were the ones on the pitch. So, I give all the credit to the players”. The 41-year-old concluded by saying that: “Oh, I am relieved (that Real de Banjul won the league), it was not an easy job I must say but I am happy that we achieved together in my first season. It was a long time that the club was waiting to feel like this, so it is a great day, today. For me personally, this is the first time of me winning a trophy and working abroad as a coach, I will never forget that!” Goalkeeper Lamin Saidy, who captained the City Boys to their 13th league title, said that:…

Real de Banjul Assistant Coach Ebrima Jatta says the City Boys had to change their approach after successive defeats to claim two successive victories against Gamtel FC and PSV Wellingara. Real de Banjul suffered three successive defeats Falcons FC, Marimoo FC and Samger FC respectively before bouncing back to victories over Gamtel FC and PSV Wellingara. “I thank the Almighty Allah that we are very much back to winning ways. Real de Banjul is a big club and going through three defeats is unacceptable,” assistant Ebrima Jatta who was tasked with media duties by head coach Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko, said after the win over PSV Wellingara. Coach Ebrima, commonly known as ‘Giggs’ went on to praise the club’s executive for intervening during the drop in form by motivating the team and vowed that the City Boys are still playing to win the league. “We appreciate the motivation the club executive gave the team, it has also helped. The motivational speeches from coaches and everyone really helped. We will go game by game but we are playing to win the league because we are Real de Banjul!” Jatta also reserved some praise for the players for their performances in the last two games saying: “The player’s showed dedication and commitment to duties. They fought tooth-and-nail in making sure they get the maximum three points.” He added: “The coming games will not be easy but this is Real de Banjul, we like to play in big games. Our most difficult games are against so-called ‘smaller teams’ but when we play against sides that want to compete us, it’s easy.” The City Boys lie second on the league table, five points behind Falcons FC who have played a game less. After playing at home after three games, the City Boys will go away again to play Greater Tomorrow on Tuesday, 16th May at the Box-Bar mini Stadium in Brikama.

Striker Abdoulie Ceesay says playing for Real de Banjul is his happiest moment in life as he continues in scoring spree in the club’s 2-1 victory over Gamtel FC at the weekend. “It’s the happiest moment for me to be finally playing for Real de Banjul because I was always excited to be part of this club,” Ceesay said after scoring his fourth goal of the season in nine matches to help the City Boys beat Gamtel 2-1 in his debut season in our first team. The young forward has been training with club for two seasons, going on loan in the first half of his second year before playing the remainder of that season in Real de Banjul’s B team, Sporting Real, in the third division. The youngster is finally relishing his moment for the City Boys in the Gambian top division saying: “The two seasons of hard work is showing off and I am feeling very happy. I scored four goals in nine games, that’s not good enough. I can’t wait to score more goals for the club I love with all my heart. My target is to score 10 to 15 goals this season and help Real de Banjul win the league. That will be my greatest moment”. Abdoulie credits head coach Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko for his improvement and goal-scoring success saying: “He is a very good coach. He’s helping me a lot to improve as a football player. I am grateful for that. He converted me to a striker. It’s not easy to play in a new role but he’s making things that I thought were complicated become very comfortable for me and I am now scoring goals”. For head coach Zahovaiko, he is delighted with the young attacker’s improvement and says he’s happy with the role conversion from a winger to a striker for Ceesay. “When I came here, he was injured. He joined us in the later part of the preseason. For me, he has more quality as a pure striker, he has a good shooting technique. Now, every day we are teaching him to make quick decisions and now I see in training sessions that he’s using two touches when he’s in the box,” Vjatšeslav said. He added: “He’s also a player who is scoring a lot of goals in training. So for me, it’s obvious that we cannot keep him as a winger. We need to bring him more closer to the goal. We also worked on the quality to finish with one touch because you cannot afford to make three, four, five touches when you’re close to the goal. So, today I am really happy he did that (finish with one touch) with a really nice goal.” “But Ceesay has to work on his stamina, he has to last (in games) more than he usually do at the moment because after 50-60 minutes the fitness level drops very quickly”. Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko also reserved some words of praise and wisdom for the club’s…

Baba Khan is an icon of the club who our current Club president William Abraham describes as “one whom without we would’ve forgotten about Real de Banjul today”. Baba Khan used to run Real de Banjul between the 60s to the 70s, a time when the club was struggling in so many ways but Mr. Khan’s selflessness saved Real de Banjul from melting down before he moved to the United States. The iconic Baba Khan is currently in the Gambia on vacation and took time off his busy schedule at the weekend to watch the City Boys beat Waa Banjul at Real de Banjul’s very own football facility. The legendary Baba Khan sat with the club media to share his time at the club, how happy he is to see Real de Banjul at a good level and his continued connection with the club and its current management. Asked how it feels to sit and watch Real de Banjul play at its very own football facility, he said…. “It makes me feel better because when I took over Real de Banjul’s management for years, the team used to train at Box-Bar stadium in Banjul, at that time many teams used to train there so there was lack of space for us and after raining seasons, the ground would be covered with water and mud, and our players were suffering with multiple injuries. So, what I did was I spoke with Master Danso (of Danso school in Latrikunda) where I lived not far from, then we were able to clean up the field. So, myself and Bambo were able to get goal post frames and install everything there, then I moved the team from training in Banjul (Box-Bar) to Latrikunda before we moved to the Independence Stadium’s second ground. When I left for the United States, Willie being very entrepreneurial and the person that has tons of ideas, was able to take the team to this level. I had tell where the history started, Willie, Pa Yusufa Samba, Bakary Jammeh (the current club executive) and everyone got the club to this level, I am super excited and I can only thank the entire board and everyone that has been part of Real de Banjul. Job well done. I am just so thrilled and excited to see the level this club is at”. Asked whether he was still following Real de Banjul and in touch with the current management, he said…. “Willie is technically my nephew because we all came from Badibu and his Uncle was part of the team management. You see how Willie was excited when I arrived, he loves me a lot and a very respectful person. When I called him last night to tell him I was around he told me ‘boy, we have a game tomorrow and you’ve to come!’, and when I called Pa Yusufa, he said ‘Uncle if you don’t go and watch we will not win, you have to be there!’, and Bakary Jammeh…

Head Coach Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko says his boys earned a good point after playing a goalless draw against Falcons FC on Wednesday evening. “We had some ideas to win the game but I have to admit that it was really a difficult game for us because the opponent was really good,” Zahovaiko said during the post-match interview at the Late Ousman Saho Football Field in Yundum. The City Boys were unable to create enough good openings against a defensively organised Falcons FC as in the previous fixtures and ‘Slava’ said that is part of reasons his side couldn’t collect the maximum points. He added: “Actually I liked the game, it was really dynamic in both halves with a lot of fighting and duels. Maybe we didn’t create good chances in the first half but we had some good chances to score a goal in the second half. It’s a draw, we have to take the point and continue working”. The Estonian coach admits missing his talismanic players in Alieu Gibba who’s on a goal and two assists, Salifu Colley with three goals and three assists and the midfield enforcer Muhammed Jobe who are all in Egypt with the Gambia U-20 for the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations. He admits: “Yes! We miss those players, of course but it is what it is we cannot influence that. We wish them all the best, and we focus on the players we have right now”. The league leaders are also without one of their leading goal scorers, in Abdoulie Baldeh who have now miss three games due to injury. Despite the draw, the City Boys remain on top of the GFF First Division League table.

Head Coach Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko says he is satisfied with his team’s performance and the manner they recorded the victory after Real de Banjul secured a 5-0 thumping win over Samger FC at Live Your Dream Sports Academy in Basori on Wednesday evening. The victory was Zahovaiko and his side’s first of the season at the Live Your Dream Academy sports complex and it was a result which pleased the gaffer. “I am happy with the attitude the team came out to play the game and the final result which is very satisfactory,” our Estonian head coach said. Striker Abdoulie Ceesay’s debut goal, Salifu Colley’s wonderful strike, winger Modou Lamin Demba’s brace and Ousman Kujabi finishing the brilliant injury time counterattack helped record a scintillating 5-0 home victory over Samger, dubbed the ‘academy boys’. Slava’s side won all their three away fixtures but could only pick just a point in each of their first two home fixtures before their emphatic 5-0 drubbing of the ‘Academy boys’. He revealed the secret behind the win saying that: “We talked with the team about winning games at home which is very important and so far we have only two draws and that’s it. So, this kind of situation (of not winning at home) is not good for us. We talked about it and I am very happy with the attitude with the way the team came out to play today and the final result is very satisfactory.” With the win, the City Boys now lead the GFF League Division One table with 14 matches after six outings. “It’s always good when the team is scoring more goals in a game but we try to maintain that level. Now the boys prove that they can create and score goals, so it’s quite a tough challenge for the coaches to keep this level but I really hope that we open that potential. The players’ confidence is raised now and I hope this continues”. He added: “I have to say good things about our fresh legs (the second half substitutes), they came in, they believe that they can score. The last goal was a beautiful counterattack from our own half with five-six seconds we arrive the final third and score. It was beautiful. I am happy for (Ousman) Kujabi and Sheikh (Jaw), our young boy, he made the first pass from our own half and ran to final third to make the final pass and that’s his first assist so, I am really happy for him.” Ahead the Samger game, the news of Zahovaiko’s nomination as Coach of the Month broke out but for the man, all he cares about is his team winning and putting up good performances rather than personal accolades. “All I care is my players and the performance, so if my team is performing well what else do I want. It’s nice but we don’t think about this (individual awards). Now, we celebrate today and tomorrow we already focus on the next opponent,”…