The controversy that will allow Portsmouth midfielder Ebou Adams to report back for Southampton game earlier than expected
Pompey midfielder Ebou Adams will link up with his Pompey team-mates sooner rather than later this week
Ebou Adams will be heading back to Pompey earlier than expected following the international break.
But Pompey fans needn’t worry, injury isn’t the reason why the Gambia midfielder will be reporting for Blues duty ahead of schedule.
Rather, his sooner-than-anticipated Fratton Park return in the lead up to Sunday’s south-coast derby against Southampton is a result of the Gambia Football Federation’s reported decision not to fulfil its scheduled fixture against Bolivia.
The Scorpions were due to face their South American opponents in Santa Cruz de la Sierra on Sunday, October 4.
The friendly was to be their third and final game of the current international window, with Johnny McKinstry’s side having secured back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations qualifying wins against Somalia and Ghana before they were due to fly to Bolivia.
Yet Adams and his international colleagues never boarded the flight that would have taken them approximately 6,200km to the other side of the world.
Instead, reportedly concerned about having to travel so far, the match agent was subsequently informed that the team would not be making the trip and the game would not be taking place.
That ‘breach of contract’ has understandably left the Federación Boliviana de Fútbol (FBF) enraged.
So much so that they are now demanding both economic and sporting sanctions against Gambia following their controversial decision to opt out of the game at such short notice.
A supposed statement attributed to the FBF reads: ‘The Bolivian Football Federation informs that the friendly match between the national teams of Bolivia and Gambia, scheduled for Sunday, October 4, 2026, in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, has been cancelled as a consequence of a unilateral decision by the Gambia Football Federation (GFF), despite the existence of a signed contract for the staging of the match.
‘In view of this contractual breach, the FBF will undertake the corresponding procedures before the competent sports authorities to request the application of the most severe economic and sporting sanctions applicable.
‘The Bolivian Football Federation regrets the inconvenience caused to the fans and to those who purchased tickets.’
The Gambia Football Federation is still to comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, unverified reports claim the players and staff were only informed about the fixture before travelling to Ghana last week.
Ebou Adams’ role for Pompey this season
The controversial decision means Adams will have longer to prepare for Pompey’s trip to St Mary’s on Sunday.
The midfielder played the full 90 minutes as Gambia came from 2-0 down to beat Ghana 4-2 in the Accra Sports Stadium last Tuesday.
That followed a 21-minute appearance as a second-half substitute in the 2-1 victory recorded by the Scorpions against Somalia on Friday, September 25.
Adams, who moved to Fratton Park from Derby in January on a two-and-a-half-year deal and played a key role in Pompey’s successful battle against Championship relegation last season, has featured eight times for the Blues this term.
However, only two of those appearances have come in the way of league starts for John Mousinho’s men.
The 30-year-old’s main rival for a starting place at St Mary’s is summer signing Rocco Shein.
The Estonia international turned down a call-up from his country last month in order to prioritise his health and focus on his new career at Pompey.