By Adama Makasuba
Gambian wunderkind Yankuba Minteh has said that playing for his country of birth, The Gambia, has been his dream, as he expressed delight for being part of a history book that qualified the country for AFCON. “It’s my pleasure to play for my country because it has been my dream and a pleasure to be in the country’s history book [for playing] in the AFCON,” he said.
The young lad urged fellow footballers both at home and abroad to believe in themselves and never allow others to discourage them from pursuing their football goals. Yankuba said he loves coming from the bench and making changes in every match by reading into the opponent’s defense line to spot their weak points.
He promised to keep qualifying the country’s senior national team to both AFCON and the world, adding that his ambition is also to play for the top leagues in the world.
Yankuba plays as a winger for Eredivisie club Feyenoord, on loan from Premier League club Newcastle United and the Gambia national team. He started his career at Steve Biko FC in The Gambia. In the summer of 2022, he moved to Danish club OB. He made his Danish Superliga debut on 10 September 2022 in a 2–1 win against Copenhagen and scored the goal three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Franco Tongya.