Gambian national team suffers major scare enroute to Africa Cup of Nations | Football

The Gambian national team nearly undertook their journey to the Africa Cup of Nations, sans oxygen on Tuesday.

The Air Cote d'Ivoire flight turned back just minutes after take-off owing to low oxygen supply, ESPN reported.

The report further stated that a preliminary investigation by the Gambian Football Association revealed 'a loss of cabin pressure and oxygen.'

The team was travelling to Ivory Coast for the upcoming African Cup of Nations when some members of the team reportedly fell unconscious following which the pilot opted to turn the plane back.

Tom Saintfiet, the head coach of Gambia, was quoted by ESPN as saying, 'There were no oxygen masks dropping down ... I am ready to die for Gambia, but on the football pitch, not off it. I had short dreams where my life passed, I had moments where I thought I was dying.'

Now, the coach is unsure about the team's participation in the event the ESPN report revealed.

'People still have headaches, vomiting, are dizzy, it could take weeks before we recover from this. We are confused, and we're even saying to not go to the Africa Cup, because we don't get treated as we want.'

The team is currently in Banjul, the Gambian capital and have reportedly denied attempts to be sent on the same propeller plane to Ivory Coast, that is 2100 kilometres away.