Yahya Manneh, the head coach of The Gambia U-17 team, has sent a heartfelt message to fans of the Baby Scorpions, urging them to refrain from putting undue pressure on the players ahead of their crunch match against Somalia today.

The team is attempting to recover from its challenging 1-0 defeat to Senegal in the highly watched Senegambian derby earlier this week.

In a compelling statement, Coach Manneh highlighted that the primary focus of youth football should be “on nurturing talent rather than obsessively chasing victories”.

“The nation also will have to understand this is a developmental stage. You can’t pressure results out from this stage if we do, we are going against the ethics of grassroots football development.” he stated with conviction.

As the Baby Scorpions gear up for a pivotal showdown against Somalia’s U-17 team today at 2pm, the stakes couldn’t be higher. 

This match not only holds significance for both teams in Group C but also impacts their dreams of reaching the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

By Ebrima KB Sonko