In a country where sporting icons often emerge from a single discipline, Bai Malleh Wadda stands tall as a rare and exceptional figure — a multi-sport legend who represented The Gambia in football, athletics, basketball, volleyball, lawn tennis, cricket, and rugby.
No other Gambian athlete has achieved such a remarkable feat.
Wadda’s journey began at Windley and Mohammedan Primary Schools in Banjul, where he first caught the eye as a school team goalkeeper. It was at Mohammedan that his sporting destiny began to unfold.
“The physical education teacher of Muhammedan School at the time, Sait Mbaye was the first man to encourage me to do sports,” Wadda recalled. “My mother was a teacher at Muhammedan and I used to go to the staff room where I’d meet Sait Mbaye.
Because he was an athlete for The Gambia, he wanted me to be an athlete too and the first thing he encouraged me to do was long jump. He’d put a long jump facility at the back of the school where I practiced during school break.”
He later moved to Crab Island School in 1971 before heading to the revered St. Augustine’s High School in Banjul, a hub of sports excellence led by Irish priest Joseph A. Gough.
There, Wadda dazzled in multiple sports — football, volleyball, basketball, and athletics — while training with Real de Banjul.
“Father Gough met me at Saints and he was impressed with my potentials. I had lot of good memories doing sports at Saints. The school gave me everything.”
From 1974 to 1977, he was crowned best high school athlete three years in a row — a record that remains unbeaten.
At just 16, he was called up for Real de Banjul in the African Club Championship against Joliba of Mali. By 17, he was representing The Gambia’s national team in Ghana.
In 1978, Wadda moved to Elmira College in New York, where he became a sports sensation. “My family wanted me to combine both sports and education, so I took both seriously.” Nicknamed WADDA 14, he dominated as the top scorer for three years and played both football and NCAA basketball, becoming the second Gambian to reach that level after Alade Sunny Joiner.
Returning home in 1982 with a degree in Marketing and Management, he marked his comeback by scoring a hat-trick for Dai Ten FC. His rise continued with the national team, where he earned top scorer honours in the 1983 West African Football Championships in Mauritania.
“That was just amazing. I will forever cherish that moment in my life. I think I made the whole Gambia proud and it made me feel so happy.”
He became a national icon, earning nicknames like Bionic Man, Superman, and Dizzle Dazzle Malleh, thanks to commentator Saul Njie. Against Guinea in Mauritania, Wadda famously scored four goals, erasing the pain of a previous home loss.
He was also The Gambia’s lone representative at the 1977 World University Games in Bulgaria, reaching the semifinals in long jump and triple jump.
After retiring from active play, Wadda became head coach of Real de Banjul, leading them to multiple championships and mentoring stars like Ebou Sillah and Pa Dembo Touray.
Now a certified English FA Level 2 coach, Bai Malleh Wadda continues to shape the future of Gambian football as a technical adviser and grassroots development leader.
His legacy remains unmatched — not just in The Gambia, but across the continent.
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