Awardee for Contribution in Sports (DodouCapi Joof)

Name:  Alhagie Dodou Joof, better known as Capi.

He is currently the President of the Gambia Athletics Association. He was the   Secretary- General of the Association and was voted the most outstanding sports personality in an annual Sports Banquet and Awards Ceremony organised by the Gambia National Olympic Committee in 2007.

Born in Banjul, The Gambia’s Capi Joof was a household name and truly a national hero, who was a force to be reckoned with at the track, indeed an outstanding sprinter.

He was the national champion record holder in the 100m and 200m, respectively from 1968- 1990, a record he held for 38 years.

Dodou Joof was among the finalists in the 200m in the Commonwealth games held in Adinburgh, Scotland, and a medalist in the regional championships in Dakar, called SemaineNationale de La Jeunesse in Senegal, in 1970.

Dodou then retired from active competitions, and opted to become an athletics Coach and Administrator. Subsequently, he was awarded a coaching scholarship in Loughborough, in England. He also holds a diploma in track and field from Loughborough, UK, and D.L.V in Germany and attended several courses and seminars in sports management.

Capi was awarded a gold Medal by Striders International of USA, and young Angles of South Africa in 1988.

In 1989, he received a certificate from the secondary and primary schools federation in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of school sports.

He is currently serving as the Technical Director for West Africa Region 2 and also served as the Technical Delegate for the GNOC at the Commonwealth games and the Atlanta Olympic Games.

In 1995, he was appointed I.T.O for the All African Games in Harare, Zimbabwe, and was also the Vice-President of the West African Cycling Federation in Burkina Faso.

He was elected Treasurer of the African Athletics Confederation and member of the African Jury of Appeal in Cairo, Egypt, in 2003.

He was elected a member of Afro Asian Athletic Council in India in 2004 and was again elected as the President of the Gambia Olympian Association, as well as the adviser to the African Olympian Association in the same year.

Dodou Joof, in 2005, in Helsinki, Finland, was awarded the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) veteran pin in recognition of his long and meritorious service to world athletics.

In April 2007, in Dakar, Cappi was re-elected unopposed as the Treasurer of the Confederation of African Athletics and a member of Jury of Appeal.