The Scorpions of Gambia made history on Monday as they became the first debutants to reach the quarter of the AFCON since the format was changed to 24 teams three years ago.
Gambia who are ranked 150 in the world and 46 in Africa (below Rwanda) has been the surprise package in the ongoing AFCON as they have already made some giant killings which includes defeating Tunisia as well as Guinea whereas they were unlucky to have drawn with Mali.
Certainly, Gambia's success did not come on a silver platter, it is something they have worked tirelessly for over the years. Times Sport takes a look at five things Rwanda can learn from the success story of the Scorpions in order to register such success.
Investing in youth football
The West African country now has an array of good talents scattered all across Europe with some playing in the top leagues. Omar Colley features for Sampdoria in Serie A, Musa Barrow is also in Serie A with Bologna, Ablie Jallow plays in the Belgian Pro League with Seraing and others. This is due to how they invested in youth soccer.
Since winning the 2009 Under 17 AFCON in AFCON, the Gambians have been very particular about youth football, now, almost all the clubs in the country have youth teams which produce great talents for their junior national teams and there are also several academies to hone talents.
Proper planning
There is an adage which goes like "If you fail to plan, you fail". The Gambians have embarked on great and serious planning for over half a decade now and they are reaping the rewards.
Occasionally, the national team plays high profile friendly games against top African nations as well as European countries to put the players in shape and build their confidence,
Again, there is a good laid down development and progression of their players to the national team. Example, three of the players in this AFCON squad namely skipper Pa Modou Jagne, Enroma Sohna and Omar Colley all started from the Under-17 level.
Beefing the team with players born in the diaspora
No matter what, players born and bred abroad develop at a better rate than those born in Africa as they have all the needed materials at an early stage to shape up their career. This includes good pitches, good coaches, training equipment etc.
Almost all the nations in Africa are beefing up their team with their countrymen born in the diaspora. This Gambian team has five players who were born in Europe and they are Ibou Touray and Ebou Adams born in England, goalkeeper Baboucarr Gaye born in Germany, Noah Sonko born in Sweden and Saidy Janko born in Switzerland. All these players have been instrumental for the team.
The Tom Sainfiet factor
The 48-year-old Belgian tactician is well versed on the African continent having coached in eight African countries before he took up the Gambia job. He has handled both national teams and club sides namely Satellites Abidjan, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Young Africans, Malawi, Free State Stars, and Togo.
Being on a supposed salary which ranges from $5000 to $10,000, Saintfiet is working magic and his stock is rising high. He has transformed Gambia into a fearful football nation that anyone seeks to avoid.
Gambians love for football
There are other sports in Gambia such as basketball, traditional wrestling and others but football reigns supreme. All the people in the country support the Scorpions and follow the team with keen interest.
Because of the great support they enjoy from the public, the players also see it as a great honor to wear the national jersey and they always push to win to make Gambians happy.