Shine Light in Girls’ Education Condemns Online Body-Shaming and Harassment of
Footballer Mariama Sambu, Calls on International Bodies to Strengthen Protection for
Women and Girls in Sport
Shine Light in Girls’ Education Germany–Gambia e.V. (SLIGE e.V.) has followed with grave
concern the wave of online abuse directed at Mariama Sambu, the Bissau-Guinean
international currently on loan to Berewuleng Women’s Football Club for the CAF Women’s
Champions League qualifiers in The Gambia. We note and welcome the statement issued by
Ram Kamara FC in her defence, and we add our voice to theirs in unreserved condemnation
of this conduct.
Reports indicate that Ms Sambu, an accomplished player who has represented Guinea-Bissau
at every national team level and across major CAF competitions, has been targeted online not
for anything connected to her sporting performance, but for her physical appearance. This is
not criticism; it is discrimination. It is a form of gender-based violence, and it has no place in
football, in Gambian society, or anywhere else.
SLIGE works daily with girls and young women across the West Coast Region of The
Gambia and beyond, supporting their education, protecting them from female genital
mutilation/cutting and gender-based violence, and building pathways to economic
independence. In that work, we see repeatedly how judgement of a girl’s or woman’s body, her
weight, her skin, her height, her features, is used to shame, silence, and diminish her, whether
she is a schoolgirl, an entrepreneur, or, as in this case, an elite athlete representing her country
on the continental stage.
Online harassment of this kind carries real consequences. It undermines the mental health and
safety of the women targeted, discourages girls and young women from pursuing careers in
sport and public life, and signals to an entire generation that visibility invites cruelty rather
than recognition. When the target is a woman playing on foreign soil, far from her own
__________________________________________________________
Office Address Ebrima Fadera
Brikama New Town Founder & President
Mbye Kunda Building – Brikama Town,
Shop No. 62 Str. Berewuleng
Tel.: +220 – 3770209 Tel.: +220 – 4121283
Tel.: +220 – 6742616 Tel.: +220 – 6742616
Email.: shinelighte.v@gmail.com Email.: njiesmommy@gmail.com
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support networks, the duty of care on host clubs, federations, and the online platforms
carrying the abuse becomes even greater.
Our Position
SLIGE affirms, without qualification, that every girl and woman has an inalienable right to
dignity, safety, and freedom from harassment, online and offline, on the pitch and off it. No
woman should ever be judged for how she looks rather than for her ability, her effort, or her
character. We stand in full solidarity with Mariama Sambu, with Ram Kamara FC in
defending their player, and with Berewuleng Women’s Football Club in safeguarding her
welfare during her time in The Gambia.
We commend Ram Kamara FC for speaking out promptly and publicly, and we join their call
on Berewuleng FC’s management to take every practical step to protect, support, and shield
Ms Sambu from further harm for the remainder of her loan spell and the tournament.
A Call to Regional and International Bodies
Beyond this individual case, SLIGE calls on the following bodies to treat online gender-based
harassment in African sport as a matter requiring sustained, structural attention rather than
case-by-case statements of concern:
● The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA, to introduce and enforce
clear anti-harassment and online safeguarding protocols for players in continental
competitions, including rapid-response support for players who are targeted, and
formal channels for clubs to report abuse for investigation and sanction.
● The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) and the football federations of Guinea-Bissau
and Sierra Leone, to publicly reaffirm their duty of care to visiting and home-based
women players alike, and to work with host clubs to ensure protective measures are in
place before, during, and after qualifying tournaments.
● The African Union and ECOWAS, through their gender and human rights
mechanisms, to recognise online gender-based harassment of sportswomen as a form
of gender-based violence falling within existing regional protocols on women’s rights,
and to encourage member states to legislate accordingly.
● UN Women and the UN Office of the Special Representative on Violence against
Children, to include digital harassment of women and girls in sport within ongoing
continental advocacy on ending violence against women and girls.
● Social media platforms operating across West Africa, to strengthen moderation,
reporting, and takedown mechanisms for coordinated harassment campaigns, and to
respond promptly when clubs, federations, or civil society organisations flag abuse
targeting an identifiable individual.
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Conclusion
As an organisation founded on the belief that every girl and woman deserves an equal chance
to learn, to work, and to thrive without fear of judgement or violence, SLIGE will continue to
speak out whenever the dignity of a woman or girl is attacked, whether she is a pupil in a rural
Gambian classroom or an international athlete competing on a continental stage. We urge the
football community, regional bodies, and the international community to match today’s words
of concern with lasting structures of protection.
For further information, interviews, or collaboration on safeguarding initiatives for women
and girls in sport, SLIGE e.V. may be contacted through its official channels.
