The ceremony was attended by the permanent secretary at the Ministry, Mambanyick Njie, deputising for the minister, staff of MoYS and members of the Normalisation Committee of the Gambia Football Association and its staff.

The evening gathering that was also attended by the pen pushers saw the Ministry pay the players and their technicians match bonuses owed them during theirqualification campaign for the Azerbaijan World Cup.

Some players went home with Cheques of GMD24,000 (Twenty Four Thousand Dalasi), GMD18,000 (Eighteen Thousand dalasi) and GMD15,000 (Fifteen Thousand Dalasi) respectively depending on the number of games that they played in the four-game series.

Addressing the gathering after they were handed their cheques, Mambanyick Njie hailed the occasion as a great day in history and gave them a tap on the back for laying the foundation of success as far as female football is concerned.

Mambanyick on behalf of his minister, Alieu Kebba Jammeh and President Jammeh assured the team of their unflinching support to make sure that they put up a respectable performance at the world championship that will take place later this year.

He challenged all the stakeholders to come together to put all hands on deck to ensure a smooth participation for the team while cautioning the players to respect their coaches and take the game of football seriously as the tray they have chosen in life.

Speaking earlier, Alhaji Omar Sey, the vice chairman of the Normalisation Committee of the GFA who also doubles as the spokesperson of the Committee, applauded the players for making history, while assuring them the maximum support of the FA in their quest for gold in Azerbaijan.

The deputy permanent secretary at the MoYS, Kumba Conateh-Nam who chaired the programme revealed that the team will be sent to an overseas training camp ahead of the championship but refused the reveal the name of the country, something she says will come as a surprise to the girls.

The vice captain of the team, Sainey Sisoho gave the vote of thanks on behalf of her teammates whoshe challenged to go to the end and make sure that they bring gold to the country. She also urged them to maintain the camaraderie in the camp since divisions will bring will bring mishap in the team.