The Gambia First Division league champions, Real de Banjul, have been withdrawn from the 2008 CAF Champions' League competition, Observer Sports has reliably learnt.

Real de Banjul and Gambia Ports Authority, the League and FA Cup champions respectively, should represent The Gambia in the continent's premier and second-tier club competitions - Champions League and Confederation Cup respectively.

However, Observer Sports has gathered that Ports Authority have opted to participate in the Confederation Cup at their own expense, while Real de Banjul pulled out owing to financial constraints.

When contacted to shed more light on the matter, Mr William Abraham, President of the Banjul-based club said his club never withdrew from the competition.

"We're training hard in preparation for the competition," said Abraham who later referred Observer Sports to the football association for clarification.

"Ask Gambia Football Association. They are responsible for registering clubs. We wrote to them some time back regarding the matter, but they claimed to have had no money to fund our participation," he said.

All efforts to reach GFA's acting secretary-general, Abdou Salaam Jammeh, for clarification proved futile at the time of going to press last night.