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The Ministry of Youth & Sports (MoYS) today begins a ten-day nationwide, policy-oriented town hall meetings tour, aimed at strengthening youth empowerment and sports development through inclusive, evidence-based dialogue. The nationwide engagement is being led by the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Bakary Y. Badjie , with support from the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Bulli Dibba, alongside heads of satellite institutions and senior technical staff of the Ministry. Covering all regions of the country, the tour adopts a participatory and whole-of-society approach, bringing together young people, sports stakeholders, civil society organisations, private sector actors, traditional leaders, and government representatives. The objective is to collectively shape practical, responsive, and locally grounded youth and sports policies.

The Honourable Minister of Youth & Sports, Bakary Y. Badjie, yesterday received a delegation from Children’s Foundation The Gambia (CFG), First Drop Initiative Manduar, and Monte Pacini for a briefing on preparations ahead of the official launch of the Stories of Hope Project scheduled for next week. The delegation informed the Minister about the five‑year initiative, which aims to educate Gambian youth on the dangers of irregular migration (“backway”) through real-life storytelling, skills development, and community engagement. The visit was led by Mr. Nfamara Dabo, Chairman of Children’s Foundation The Gambia, who provided an overview of the foundation, the project concept, and its expected contribution to national efforts to address irregular migration. Mr. Musa Darboe, author of First Drop and founder of First Drop Initiative Manduar, also shared his personal experience with irregular migration. He expressed his commitment to using his story throughout the project to inspire young people to pursue skills development and safer, legal pathways to travel. Representing Monte Pacini, Mrs. Elisabetta Baldassarri, President of the organization, expressed their readiness to support both the launch and implementation of the project, highlighting their longstanding dedication to youth development initiatives in Italy and abroad. In receiving the delegation, Hon. Badjie welcomed the team and commended them for designing such an impactful initiative. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting programmes that equip young people with knowledge, skills, and safe opportunities at home. The meeting concluded with Mr. Carlo Pagliacci presenting a letter from the Mayor of the City Council of Fermo, Italy, confirming the council’s commitment to partner in the project.

The Honourable Ministry of Youth & Sports , Bakary Y. Badjie, yesterday received a delegation from Children’s Foundation The Gambia (CFG), First Drop Initiative Manduar, and Monte Pacini for a briefing on preparations ahead of the official launch of the Stories of Hope Project scheduled for next week. The delegation informed the Minister about the five‑year initiative, which aims to educate Gambian youth on the dangers of irregular migration (“backway”) through real-life storytelling, skills development, and community engagement. The visit was led by Mr. Nfamara Dabo, Chairman of Children’s Foundation The Gambia, who provided an overview of the foundation, the project concept, and its expected contribution to national efforts to address irregular migration. Mr. Musa Darboe, author of First Drop and founder of First Drop Initiative Manduar, also shared his personal experience with irregular migration. He expressed his commitment to using his story throughout the project to inspire young people to pursue skills development and safer, legal pathways to travel. Representing Monte Pacini, Mrs. Elisabetta Baldassarri, President of the organization, expressed their readiness to support both the launch and implementation of the project, highlighting their longstanding dedication to youth development initiatives in Italy and abroad. In receiving the delegation, Hon. Badjie welcomed the team and commended them for designing such an impactful initiative. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting programmes that equip young people with knowledge, skills, and safe opportunities at home. The meeting concluded with Mr. Carlo Pagliacci presenting a letter from the Mayor of the City Council of Fermo, Italy, confirming the council’s commitment to partner in the project.

The Ministry of Youth & Sports is pleased to welcome Mr. Bulli M. Dibba as its new Permanent Secretary. A seasoned civil servant, Mr. Dibba brings decades of experience in public administration, having served in several senior leadership positions across government. He has previously held key roles as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Interior, Lands, Ministry of Defence, Office of The President and the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, where he played an instrumental role in policy coordination, administration, and national development initiatives. He served as Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Chancery of the Gambia High Commission in Sierra Leone from September 2020 to December 2025. Mr. Dibba holds a bachelor’s degree in finance (BS), a master’s degree in business administration (MBA), a Masters degree in Public Administration Nonprofit (MPNA) and a master’s degree in international development (MSc) Known for his dedication to public service and strong leadership, Mr. Dibba’s wealth of experience is expected to strengthen youth empowerment programs and advance the development of sports in The Gambia. The Ministry congratulates Mr. Bulli Dibba on his redeployment and looks forward to his contribution to building a vibrant and impactful youth and sports sector.

The Ministry of Youth & Sports , led by Honourable Minister Bakary Y. Badjie, Tuesday held a press conference to brief the media on the progress of the Independence Stadium renovation and to clarify audit concerns. The Minister explained that although the project was launched in January 2023 but actual works commence in June 2023, making the effective work period about two and a half years and not five years, as widely claimed. He also reminded the public that AFCON matches played in 2021 were done under temporary approval, before full redevelopment officially started. On the pitch, Minister Badjie confirmed that the stadium will remain a hybrid pitch . Specialized equipment has now been secured, and an international expert company, Gregori international, has been engaged to handle the technical pitch works, while supervision on the work remain under the Ministry of Transport Works and Infrastructure, Gambia-MOTWI . “The pitch is currently in the grass establishment phase, which involves reseeding and surface dressing to ensure durability and quality. These ongoing works are part of the normal process toward delivering a world-class playing surface” Hon Badjie emphasize. Below are photos highlighting the ongoing works, along with the materials and equipment purchased for the construction and maintenance of the pitch. More updates will be shared in our next edition.  

The Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports shared the following message on his official Facebook page highlighting ongoing grassroots sports development efforts: “More and more sport committees are taking up initiatives to start self-help projects in their sport fields as the Ministry of Youth & Sports encourage sport infrastructure improvement in major sporting centers. The latest is the Kunkujang Keitaya Sport Committee, who, after completing the fencing of their football field, have started a new project to construct Dressing Rooms at their field. As initial funding for this project is primarily from cash donations from myself, Hon. Mod Ceesay, now Minister of Trade and Mr. Amadou Sanneh, I was given the honor to set the ball rolling with the symbolic laying of the first brick for the project. The brief ceremony was held yesterday at the football field during the final of the league named after me. Upon completion, the building will have rooms for the two teams, referees, and an office, with the committee leveraging on monies raised from the gate taken to complete the project.”