 | |||
| Full name | Real de Banjul Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | City Boys | ||
| Founded | 1966; 59 years ago (1966) | ||
| Ground | Banjul Mini Stadium[1] | ||
| Capacity | 3,000 | ||
| Chairman | Momodou Bah | ||
| Manager | Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko | ||
| League | GFA League First Division | ||
| 2023–24 | GFA League First Division, 1st of 16 (champions) | ||
| Website | http://www.realdebanjul.com/ | ||
Real de Banjul Football Club is aGambian professionalassociation football club based inBanjul. The team compete in theGFA League First Division, the top flight ofGambian football league system. Real de Banjul is the most successful club in Gambian football history, having won a record 12 national titles
Real de Banjul was founded in the 1966–67 season after a group of secondary schoolboys international team returned from a trip to Thiès in Senegal and named it asBenson and Hedges FC. The name was eventually changed by the then Director of Youth and Sports toReal de Bathurst FC and upon its registration with theGambia Football Federation, it headquartered at 81 Lancaster Street, Banjul. The team witnessed another name change in 1970 changing to its present name ofReal de Banjul which led to the expansion of the team having basketball, volleyball and athletics teams.[2] The team then consisted of the youngest talented players in comparison to other local teams and won its first league title in 1971–72.
The first two cup titles were won in 1969 and 1970. Real de Banjul's cup final results in 1970 defeated White Phantoms 2–1, the club lost toGambia Ports Authority in 1975 and later in 1980. Real lost to win their third title in 1993 after losing toWallidan 2–1, they got their recent cup title in 1997 after defeatingHawks. The club lost to again to Wallidan in 2002 in their recent cup final appearance.[2]
As champion winner, the club competed in the 2012 Gambian Super Cup and won their only title.[3]
Their first continental appearance was in 1975 after winning their second title and withdrew from a match with Guinea'sHafia FC. Their first match was played a year later against Mali'sDjoliba AC. After winning their fourth title, the club advanced in the second round and challenged Liberia'sSaint Joseph Warriors where they scored their first goal and won their first match at the continentals for Real, later the club lost two legs toGhana's Hearts of Oak. Real Banjul competed against the club from Guinea-Bissau further southSporting Bissau and lost the second leg. The club competed in 1995 and defeated Cape Verde'sCD Travadores, then the club facedMbilnga from Gabon and the second match was abandoned at the 70th minute. Four years later in 1999, the club faced another Guinea's clubAS Kaloum Star, the first leg won 0–2 while the second lost 4–1, in 2001, the club facedFC Derby from Mindelo, Cape Verde and defeated 1–0 in the second leg, then facedASC Diaraf from Dakar in the neighboring Senegal up northwest and scored only a goal in the first match, as they scored nothing in the second match, they lost. As the 2007 national champion,[4] Real Banjul withdrew in early December[5] and did not participate in the 2008 CAF Champions League.[6] Their next appearance was twelve years later in the 2013 season, the club challenged withFUS Rabat and won 2–1 and was out as the away team succeeded. Their recent appearance was the 2015 season and succeeded up to the first round.[2]
Its uniform color is red with a white right sash, sleeve and short edges for home games and the opposite being white with a red right sash, sleeve and short edges.
Its uniform color for home games was white with blue lining near its edges.
| Season | Competition | Qualification method | Round | Opposition | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | African Cup of Champions Clubs | Gambian champions | First round |  Hafia FC | canc. | canc. | none[a] |
| 1976 | African Cup of Champions Clubs | Gambian champions | First round |  Djoliba AC | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–4 |
| 1979 | African Cup of Champions Clubs | Gambian champions | Preliminary Round |  Saint Joseph Warriors | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| First round |  Hearts of Oak | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | |||
| 1984 | African Cup of Champions Clubs | Gambian champions | First round |  SC Bissau | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| 1995 | African Cup of Champions Clubs | Gambian champions | First round |  CD Travadores | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Second round |  Mbilinga FC | 0–2 | 4–0[b] | 0–6 | |||
| 1999 | African Cup of Champions Clubs | Gambia champions | First round | AS Kaloum Star | 0–2 | 4–1 | 3–4 |
| 2000 | CAF Cup | First round |  CSS Richard-Toll | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | |
| 2001 | CAF Champions League | Gambian champions | Preliminary Round | FC Derby | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| First round | ASC Diaraf | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | |||
| 2013 | CAF Champions League | Gambian champions | Preliminary Round |  FUS Rabat | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 |
| 2015 | CAF Champions League | Gambian champions | First round |
| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | GD | P | Cup | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 14 | +2 | 25 | ||
| 2005 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 18 | -5 | 23 | ||
| 2006 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 19 | ||
| 2007 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 6 | +9 | 35 | ||
| 2008 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 14 | 9 | +5 | 31 | ||
| 2009 | 1 | 8 | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 20 | -3 | 29 |
| Name | Nationality | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bai Malleh Wadda[7] |  Gambia | 1996 | 1998 | |
| Musa Njie | Gambia | 2013 | 2014 | |
| Vasile Dobrău |  Romania | 2009 | 2010 | |
| Alhaji Amat Cham | Gambia | 2013 | 2013 | |
| Alagie Sarr | Gambia | 2013 | 2013 | |
| Franky van de Velde |  Belgium | 2013 | 2014 | |
| Mattar M'Boge | Gambia England | 2014 | 2015 | |
| Franky van de Velde | Belgium | 2015 | 2016 | |
| Majorr Saine | Gambia | 2016 | 2017 | |
| Musa Njie | Gambia | 2017 | 2019 | |
| Ebou Jarra | Gambia | 2019 | 2021 |
