Club President: Abdul Salam Ceesay

Building an academy in West Africa’s talent hotbed

The Gambia, the smallest country in continental Africa by area, has become an unexpected wellspring of footballing talent. Despite its modest size, the nation continues to punch above its weight, producing players who have risen to prominence across Europe and beyond, including Brighton’s £30 million forward Yankuba Minteh.

In this interview, Abdul Salam Ceesay, President of Universal Sporting Boys F.C., offers an inside look at the challenges and rewards of building an ambitious football academy in a region brimming with potential. Abdul’s academy is part of a growing movement across West Africa to provide a platform for young talent to thrive and make their mark on the global stage.

As the football world becomes increasingly interconnected, people like Abdul and institutions like Universal Sporting Boys F.C. are not just nurturing the next generation of African footballers—they’re shaping the future of the player development itself.

The interview has been condensed and lightly edited for grammar and clarity.

Abdul Salam Ceesay profile pic

[ Background ]

I’m from The Gambia in West Africa originally where I studied and did my schooling before moving to the UK where I did some studying as well and started coaching and scouting. I even worked briefly as an agent. So, I’ve been involved in football for almost 10 years now. I’m really enjoying learning and growing as a sportsperson.

I come from a football family. My eldest brother played professionally for the Portland Timbers for a couple of seasons before a bad knee injury. My other brother played semi-pro in the UK for a few years as well - now, he’s a licensed agent. And then there’s me, I’m working on enabling the next generation coming out of West Africa and Africa as a whole.

[ Universal Sporting Boys F.C. ]

This is a project that's aimed at being the foundation or bedrock for the development of young players. We want to be the academy that produces the next Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o or Yaya Touré.

We started in 2019 with a group of local boys with the aim of creating a platform for development and helping them get placed at clubs or even universities that best suit their talents. We identify, recruit and develop players through our programs. Opportunities don’t just ‘come about’ - we work hard to make sure the players are developed in the right way and have access to good opportunities.

It’s not been an easy ride but it’s worked out very well for us so far. In 2020 or 2021, we caught the eye of Lokomotiva Zagreb (Croatian first division) and established a partnership that lasted a couple of years and benefitted several of our players. Since our inception 5 years ago, we’ve overachieved in terms of placing players. Whether it’s the 3 players who’ve gone to Lokomotiva, a transfer to a club in Dubai or recently placing a player at Denmark’s second biggest club, FC Midtjylland, we’ve done what clubs that have been around 30 or 40 years in the country haven’t done.

It makes me proud, but now (that we’ve had some initial success), it’s definitely time to step hard on the gas and make sure we can make a real impact. We’ve come a long way but we have a long way to go! I’ve been networking very intensively in the last 4 or 5 years and this has been the difference maker. We have 4 or 5 boys heading to the UK soon, invited for a trial at Barnsley and one of our partner colleges. We’ve facilitated about 15 student scholarships on behalf of local kids in The Gambia and Sierra Leone (where we’ve expanded operations).

We have almost everything in place and are currently seeking investors who believe in our project to take it to the next level. Our aim is to be the biggest center of excellence in Africa. With the right people on board, we can do it.

Abdul with Malanding Bojang at the airport before his trial at Danish giants FC Midtjylland
Malanding signing with FC Midtjylland after a successful trial!

"Our aim is to be the biggest center of excellence in Africa"

[ Can you describe your motivation for a project like this? And what are the first steps to actually setting up a club? ]

Before starting the club, I’d been coaching at youth level for a while and working as an agent myself - trying to connect players and clubs. I didn’t have a lot of luck (as an agent) which was very frustrating but it motivated me to start from scratch and build something tailored in a way that would actually suit the competition of the real world.

Owning a football club is the only way you can have total and full control of the players to train and develop them in the best way while retaining the biggest incentives. Thanks to my network, we’ve not had to make any placements through an agent and would only use them as a secondary option when it comes to proposing clubs for our players. So my initial motivation to start the academy was to develop players and have the ‘first right’ to help them get the next move without the need for an agent.

[ What age range are you looking at for the first team? ]

In the beginning, we knew we needed some (slightly) more experienced players to help the club stamp their authority on the league we’re in to get started. The average age of the squad in 2019 (the first season) was 21 and we’ve managed to reduce this by 0.5 each season, currently, our average age in the squad is only 18.5. The younger the player, the more interesting they are for clubs abroad.

[ Are you scouting throughout The Gambia or just in Banjul/around the capital? ]

Until now, we’ve only been scouting the capital region - where everything is happening. But starting in January, we’ll start an extensive scouting program for the first time, meaning we will scout every region in The Gambia and aim for full coverage across the major cities and the outskirts of the country. This will involve quite a lot of money and that has been the main factor that has restricted us so far.

Typically, we recruit players directly from schools and academies. Compared to the first year, this process is getting easier and easier for us. We can go to almost any player and they will listen to us because we have reference points. We have proof that we can develop them and give them visibility and exposure to clubs abroad. This makes it easier to convince the players, the parents and the academies.

"We can go to almost any player and they will listen to us because ... We have proof that we can develop them and give them visibility and exposure to clubs abroad"

[ What does your role look like? ]

I’m 100% hands on with the project. I’m a fan of quality over quantity, I don’t see the need to have loads of staff. Right now there are just 3 of us running the academy.

I’ve been in scouting and talent ID for over 8 years in the UK and Africa, so I do a lot of the scouting and recruitment. I’ve traveled to about 25 countries, from all parts of the continent. I think my experience gives us a bit of a competitive edge when it comes to finding players that can develop within our program.

I also do social media marketing and promotions. I help with the coaching. I meet with the parents and conduct interviews. I facilitate the placements and the players’ travel (e.g. visas and accommodation). I’m doing the role of agent, coach, scout, marketer, I’m involved in everything that happens with the club.

By ‘title’ I'm club president but I don't like to appear as a club president. I like to appear as someone who’s actually working for the club, not just a figurehead.

I see this work as something that defines me as a person, and well, it makes it hard to outsource or trust other people to get the job done the same way I would get it done!

[ Can you expand on the decision to expand to Sierra Leone? Is the plan to duplicate Universal Sporting Boys F.C. in more countries? ]

There was a bit of bias! Sierra Leone is a second home to me, I have roots in Sierra Leone, cousins and sisters that were born or live there, my dad has been living there for ~40 years. So this was definitely a big influence. I’m lucky to come from a privileged home and the least I can do is ensure I give something back to my country and my countrymen.

Additionally, I think The Gambia and Sierra Leone are pretty similar in the amount of raw talent that can be developed, which was also one of the driving factors.

Ultimately, we are looking to ‘duplicate’ what we’ve done in The Gambia in Sierra Leone but there are still lots of differences in development. We don’t expect the one in Sierra Leone to get up and running at the same level as the one in The Gambia automatically. As in many West African countries, there are always going to be different challenges, whether it’s from a religious, political or economic point, there are a lot of factors that will come into play.

[ How is the club financed? Is it reliant on transfers? ]

Up until this point, we've not made a single penny on one transfer. All the others were free transfers and we are hoping to get a sell-on fee in the future.

—^interviewer’s note: ‘sell-on’ clauses are common in football transfers, especially for young players. Usually, this means the original selling club will receive a percentage (or specified amount) of a future fee if the player is transferred to another club

Currently, most of the finances for the club have been coming from my other business - a logistics and travel company - that I’ve converted into a ‘sister company’ with the football club. This funds the club directly.

Our biggest expenses definitely come from the transportation of players (e.g. to trials and tournaments) and facility rentals.

[ Looking through the Gambian players in the national team, the most common routes to Europe are via clubs in Scandinavia, Italy and Spain - why are Gambian players so attractive to clubs in these leagues? ]

I'd say most clubs bringing in African players are bringing these players, not entirely because of the talent they possess but also their physical prowess. Some of these leagues are at a certain physical level and a player (above that level) can become an outstanding player.

In Scandinavia, all the clubs are ‘selling clubs’. So they are trying to find players before they get on everyone’s radar - they need to be the first bidder and train the player for 6 months, or one year and then sell them on. They’re looking for the player who kills it in a regional U17 or U20 tournament - say in West Africa. Because, if they wait for that same player to go to the U17 World Cup and he kills it there, they have no chance to sign him anymore. So I think this is the reason clubs from Scandinavia tend to act fast in bringing in players that have potential.

[ You mentioned Lokomotiva Zagreb and partner colleges - what does a ‘partnership’ mean? ]

The partnership that we had with Lokomotiva Zagreb was informal - I wouldn't say it was really a partnership. Honestly, we did almost all of the work. Sure, we were able to help a few players with the opportunity but we never really had a mutually beneficial relationship. There was no real training or coaching exchange and when we sent players on trial in Zagreb, we had to cover all the costs - including flights, visas and even accommodation and food in Zagreb! Going forward, we’ve learned a lot about this process.

Now, we’re looking for investors and partners for a range of things - especially infrastructure and player pathways. We have a few interested clubs and actually agreed with Charlton Athletic to travel to England next summer to participate in a tournament and play with Charlton. We’re looking for some sponsorship funds to take a very talented group of U17s to the UK.

With colleges and universities, we partner with schools that are playing in high level tournaments and need players that can come in and make a difference. Brooke House College is one of our main partners and has been one of our biggest supporters - including with funds. Giles Williams, the director, is one of my mentors and he’s someone who supported me and encouraged me to start Universal Sporting Boys F.C. and still helps in any way he and his college can.

Abdul Salam Ceesay meeting with the staff at Portsmouth F.C.
Abdul (second left) meeting with the staff at Portsmouth F.C.

[ What are the long term goals for Universal Sporting Boys? ]

In the next 5 years, I'm looking to definitely climb up the ladder and be amongst those academies in Africa that are mentioned as the ‘big boys’. We want to be the ‘go-to’ academy for every club in the world, if they want to check out Africa, they should know our name and check us out.

In the long term, we want to become one of the biggest centers of excellence in Africa. We want this academy to be a second chance, an opportunity for a new life.

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