The vice chairman and the spokesperson of the Normalisation Committee of the Gambia Football Association, Omar Sey, has told reporters that he doubts if the committee would be able to hold a congress on September 30th as requested by FIFA.

Sey, who was speaking at the GFA House in Kanifing on Wednesday at the end of their meeting with Nicolas Valticos of FIFA’s Legal Affairs Division, was quick to add that they will still go ahead with the congress should FIFA ask them to. He dismissed claims that the committee is seeking an extension to their mandate.

His words: “Mr Nicolas is going to report back to FIFA on what we agreed on and send the document back to us and if FIFA agreed on it, then we can send it to all the stakeholders before we can call a congress. I cannot give a definite timetable because it is only today that FIFA is sending someone here for this constitution and we are not delaying this thing as people believe.”

Sey explained that the meeting was part of a continuous and ongoing dialogue they have with FIFA regarding the constitution of the GFA, by looking at areas they can improve or agree on in order to come up with a concrete agreement that will be presented to the stakeholders in the country.

Commenting on a recent petition letter signed by over 80% of the League Clubs in the country, which faulted the GFA Normalisation Committee and its performance, with the clubs claiming the committee had no right to fire or send staff on leave, and that the Ministry of Youth and Sports continues to interfere with the running of the association, Sey said interfering by government –MoYS- stopped at the FIFA House in Zurich when the world football governing body set up a Normalisation Committee tasked to return the association to an elected committee within six months.

“The government dissolved the football association and that is where they interfered and it stopped at that. What they are now talking about government interference is the staffing and not the dissolution which was addressed long time,” Sey further stated, and went on to stress that they as a committee have every right to remove staff.

He added: “We did not sack staff, we sent them on leave. We have worked with them for four months and said it is now time to step aside temporarily for us to finalise what we are doing and you work with somebody you are comfortable with.”