Gambinos grow thanks to aid from Bill and his mates
October 2009 is etched on Bill Gillespie’s mind in more ways than one.
That month the Causewayhead man and his wife Janet celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by treating themselves to a holiday.
“Somewhere different,” is how 60 year-old Bill, describes their trip to The Gambia - and a holiday which was to change their lives forever.
The initial visit saw them make friends with a Gambian couple who they decided to sponsor and in a trip the following year, Bill was introduced to a football side - which had no matching kit and hardly any player in boots.
Bill and Janet decided to help out the club - named The Gambinos in honour of his favourite football team Stirling Albion - and backed by friends in the Stirling area the club has grown into a six-team academy, a senior team, under 19s, under 15s, under 13s, under 10s and around 150 mini Gambinos.
Bill said: “That first year we met a young married couple called Morrow and Amie Yarboe and decided to help them out and the following year we visited a small village called Mandinary when I watched one of their football teams play in a cup final.”
As an avid Stirling Albion fan, Bill wasn’t used to supporting cup final sides but one thing different from the Binos and the Mandinary footballers was that the Africans had no matching kit and few had boots.
Bill went on: “We decided to help this team and they kindly adopted the name The Gambinos in honour of Stirling Albion.”
“Now Morrow and Amie have been joined by Bill, Dembo, Alieu, Margaret, and another one on the way and over the years we have been fundraising - not just for football kit but children’s clothes donated by people from all over Stirling.
“We were also persuaded to visit the local medical clinic and when we did we were shocked at the conditions that young women had to give birth in so we agreed to help out there as well.
“Janet and I had some great donations from Dr Stewart at Bridge of Allan Health Centre and with some local people we made a start. Then along came Sheena Deane, a friend who is a nurse in Vale of Leven Hospital and she has never stopped collecting bags and bags of medical equipment including sterilisers, oxygen equipment, and even six hydraulic beds.”
Thanks to the generosity of people in the Stirling area, the footballing Gambinos have a great selection of kit and as Bill said: “Every one of them is delighted to be a part of the Albion family.”,
He added: “During the past seven years we have had 29 of our players offered contracts with professional teams in The Gambia and are earning a wage, eight of them have signed with teams in various countries.
“The icing on the cake obviously, would be if we could get one or two over to Stirling and into the Albion maybe one day.”
Bill paid tribute to some of the people who have helped him and Janet including Michael McPake of Active Stirling and Karen Sneddon from Milton Ams “who have never stopped collecting kit and equipment for our academy.”
He added: “Stirling Albion Supporters Club make a donation every year which enables the senior team to take part in a higher division, pay for transport, food and send sometimes three academy kids to school.
“Stirling Albion Supporters Trust last year paid for enough training equipment for all the teams, and Stirling Albion themselves are always generous with first team kit when I need it.
“Pat Griffin from Milton has also supplied us with dozens of football kits and equipment over the years.
“There have been dozens more kind people who have helped to make the lives easier of people of this small poverty stricken village in the West Coast of Africa.
“When we go to the village it’s very humbling because people in their hundreds come to say hello and thank you to Janet and I.
“On their behalf I would like to thank every single person who has taken the time to help these proud people from Mandinary.”
Every one of them is delighted to be part of the Albion family