The Gambia national football team have arrived safely in Ivory Coast ahead of their AFCON opener against Senegal on Monday. 

The arrival of the senior team and their staff has been welcomed with relief among Gambians after their chartered flight was forced to return to Banjul due to loss of cabin pressure and oxygen less than 10 minutes after take off.

The team’s journey to AFCON has been marred by much abnormalities as the team played all its qualifiers away after CAF suspended the country’s only Independence Stadium due to being unfit to host international matches.

On January 8, the Scorpions boycotted training in Banjul over unpaid match bonuses which was swiftly settled thanks to the intervention of President Barrow. 

“We have landed safely in Yamoussoukro,” Gambia Football Federation said in a statement.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba