With support from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme, The Gambia girls’ team claimed the silver medal at the inaugural CAVB Under 18 Beach Volleyball Youth Development Cup held at Kasumai Beach in Banjul, The Gambia from 4 to 6 September.
Organised through a collaborative effort between Olympic Solidarity and the FIVB, the competition is part of a wider Youth Athlete Development Programme that combines high-level competition with sustained investment in long-term athlete development.
Speaking about the event, Sheila Stephens Desbans, Head of Sport Development and Oceania Continental Manager for Olympic Solidarity stated; “the IOC through Olympic Solidarity is excited to see how this latest opportunity in cooperation with FIVB will help the NOCs and NFs of Africa with this group of strong athletes, while also reinforcing best practices within the Olympic Movement. We have seen the ongoing evolution of the sport in Africa that has been guided by FIVB and shows the great talent on the continent. Looking toward the Dakar YOG in 2026, these athletes, supported by strong coaches and officials are the stars of tomorrow. We can see that these types of projects can really help leverage the work of the NOCs and NFs in coordination with the IFs.”
The FIVB has invested 42,000 USD in a 12 months youth beach volleyball programme in The Gambia with Félix Lopez taking charge of the junior girls’ team.
The Gambia’s Hoja Njie and Mariama Sambou had won four matches in a row to reach the final, having topped Pool A unbeaten before cruising past their quarterfinal and semifinal opponents.
Njie and Sambou had beaten Morocco’s Hafsa Bouysfi and Marwa Chalhaoui in straight sets (23-21, 23-21) in the semifinals to qualify for the final where they tasted their first defeat of the tournament.
Ekete Moseka and Matatanu Mayala of the Democratic Republic of Congo beat the host team by 2-0 (21-14, 21-18) to secure the gold medal after edging out Pamela Miyoum Bawa and Odoh Ifechukwu Faustina of Nigeria by 2-1 (16-21, 21-16, 15-12) in the semifinals.
Pamela and Faustina cruised past Bouysfi and Marwa (21-07,21-12) in the third-place playoff to clinch the bronze medal for Nigeria whose Coach Support project, under the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme, will start this month with Coach Luciano Regis taking charge of all beach volleyball national teams.
In the boys’ competition, Bakary Ensa Kanyi and Abdallah Bah of The Gambia put together a five-match winning streak enroute their gold medal triumph.
Bakary and Bah beat Sulaiman Bangura and Alie Kainesie of Sierra Leone in straight sets (21-17, 21-16) in the final to crown their impressive run in the tournament where they dropped only one set in five matches.
The Gambians’ 2-1 (21-16, 20-22, 15-08) win over Morocco’s Adam Lahsini and Youssef Bouysfi in the semifinals was the only game where they dropped a set having cruised through Pool A and the quarterfinals unbeaten.
Sierra Leone’s Sulay and Ali had defeated Justice Adusei Amoafo and Daniel Lartey of Ghana by 2-0 (21-12, 21-15) to reach the final. Justice and Dan picked themselves up in the third-place playoff to overcome Lahsini and Bouysfi by 2-0 (21-17,21-13) and secure the bronze medal for Ghana.
9 boys’ duos and 9 girls’ pairs from Gambia, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Cape Verde, Nigeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana took part in the CAVB Under 18 Beach Volleyball Youth Development Cup in Banjul.
Referees take part in the CAVB International Referee Candidates Course (IRCC) in The Gambia. (Photo credits: CAVB)
Meanwhile, the FIVB supported the facilitation of the CAVB International Referee Candidates Course (IRCC) in The Gambia, through an investment of USD 6,000 via the Volleyball Empowerment programme.
The Gambia’s Minister of Youth and Sport Bakary Y Badgie presided over the opening ceremony of the course that started on 1 September and was led by Brazilian referee expert Elzir Martins who was supported by Ehab Narder from Egypt.
The initiative attracted strong participation, with 25 candidates from 20 different National Federations and an additional 7 observers taking part.
