Scorpions head coach, Jose Martenez, left Banjul on Friday, November 9, for his native Spain, Observer Sports has reliably learnt.

 The Spaniard, who was set to name his 22-man squad for the upcoming Zone II tournament on Friday, left as preparations continued to intensify to ensure Gambia's successful participation in the biannual regional football tournament, which is scheduled to take place in the former Portuguese colony of Guinea Bissau, starting from November 30 to December 10, 2007.

"We did not train and the 22-man squad could not be named on Friday because the coach (Jose Martenez) was not with us. We were told that he had a very important mission to attend to in Spain," one of the invited players told Observer Sports.

When contacted to shed light on the coach's purported departure, Mr Ebou Joof, Permanent Secretary at the Department of State for Youth and Sports, maintained that the coach had left ceremoniously, adding he will return to Banjul as soon as possible. He refuted any possible suggestion that Jose Martenez left with mixed feelings.

"Jose Martenez has gone to attend a marriage ceremony, and he will back very soon. We were aware of his trip, so were the football association too. He will be coming back before the Zone II tournament," he said.

Permanent Secretary Joof also revealed that the coach's short trip to his native country will in no way hinder the Scorpions preparation for the Zone II competition, as according to him, other technicians are working closely with the team.

"We have the chairman of the Technical Committee, Musa Njie and the Scorpions Team Manager, Biri Biri working hand-in-hand with coach Lamin Sarr and there is no way that the coach's trip will retard the team's preparation ahead of the Bissau championship," he said.