Gambia U-17 arrive in Cairo

The Gambia under 17 squad have arrived in Cairo, Egypt for a one-month training camp ahead of the 8th edition of African Under 17 Championship tournament to be staged in Algeria.

Egyptian coach Tarik Siagy tutored side are billed to play a series of friendly matches in the North African country before flying into Algeria on March 16 for the tournament proper fixed between March 19 and April 3. The draw for the eight-nation event was held over the weekend in Algeria. The Gambian team were handed arguably the toughest draw of the two groups after they found themselves in the same group as hosts Algeria, familiar opponents Guinea and 2003 winners Cameroon.

Newcomers Niger and Malawi face a relatively easy task in Group B after they were paired in the same section as relatively unknown sides Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe. The four semi-finalists from the Algeria tournament will automatically qualify for the 2009 FIFA Under-17 World Cup to be played in Nigeria later in the same year. The Gambian team, who beat Guinea 2-0 in a friendly match played last month in Banjul, will open their group account with the same side on March 19, in Zeralda. The Baby Scorpion will also take on former champion Cameroon on March 22, before wrapping off their group campaign against hosts Algeria on March 25.

Reacting to the draw, the President of the Gambia Football Association, Seedy Kinteh, disagreed that the Baby Scorpions are in a tough group. He saidt the Egypt training camp will better equip the team to stand any side in Algeria. "The draw is fair. Our first match is against Guinea and they are not new to us. We only need to win our first game against Guinea and avoid defeat in remaining two group matches," Kinteh said shortly after the announcement of the groupings on Sunday.