Category: Games

Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani has pledged her administration’s support for sports development in the coastal county.

Governor Achani said her administration would give priority to sports development in order to unite and empower the youth.

Achani says her vision is to make Kwale one of the foremost sports counties in the country, pledging to build more football pitches and other sporting facilities as part of her administration’s efforts to boost sports development.

The county boss urged the youths in Kwale to embrace sports and be serious with their academic pursuits.

She says the county will prioritise sports development as a tool to engage youth and combat drug abuse and crime.

Achani spoke after holding separate fund drives for Denmark Football Club at Maganyakulo, Waa/Ng’ombeni ward in Matuga sub-county, and Wayzata Football Club at Gazi village in Kinondo ward in Msambweni sub-county.

The fundraiser has been organised by the local leadership to help support the two foremost football teams in their sporting activities.

She said the fund drive is geared towards equipping the teams with the necessary sports kits and other projects to sustain them economically.

During the fund-raising events, Achani was accompanied by Matuga MP Kassim Tandaza,his Msambweni counterpart Feisal Bader, Kwale Woman Representative Fatuma Masito, nominated Senator Raphael Chimera, and Kenya Ports Authority Board Chairman Benjamin Tayari.

Achani said the devolved government will do everything possible to promote sports in the region.

‘As a devolved unit, we are also committed to ensuring that our youth are empowered to grow their talents,’ she said, adding that the youth should not relegate physical activities to the backburner but rather pay much attention to them.

She said the importance of sports as a means of income generation and youth development cannot be overemphasised.

Achani told the youths to use their time and talents in sports development, noting that the county government is cognizant of the fact that sports remain the easiest way of taking the youths off the streets.

She says the devolved government will explore all possible avenues for more youth participation in sports to empower them to become self-reliant.

Achani observed that sports development will be given due attention, noting that grassroots sports development was key to building peace among communities.

The local leaders commended the county government for its sports-friendly posture and urged it to continue prioritising sports development as a tool to engage youths and combat drug abuse.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Senior national football team coach Collin Benjamin says the lack of experience in his squad was evident when they drew one-all against host nation South Africa in their opening match of the Cosafa Cup.

The 2023 Senior Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup is underway in Durban, South Africa. Namibia is drawn in Group A alongside host nation South Africa, Botswana and Eswatini.

In their opening Group A match at the King Zwelithini Stadium in Durban Wednesday night, the two nations played to a hard-fought stalemate which saw Elmo Kambindu giving Namibia the lead just before the halftime break. The Namibian talisman found himself unmarked at the back post and had the simplest of headed chances to put his side in front after a brilliant cross from Bethuel Muzeu just minutes before halftime.

In the second half, it took just three minutes of play for the home team to be back on level terms when Rowan Human scored his first international goal just outside the 18-yard area. But despite both teams pushing for the winner later in the match, neither side could find the back of the net as the game ended 1-1.

In an interview after the match, Benjamin said he was happy with the way his team started the match.

“We started well. In the areas we call the war zone, we had aggression. We could have gone into the lead way earlier in the match, but our final touch failed us,” he said, adding that Muzeu and Kambindu connected well to score the goal, and credit should be given to them for their hard work.

The coach also added that inexperience hit them when their opponents had a throw-in, but his players could not react fast as they had their backs against the opponents.

“We are still going to work hard to get a point from the next match. We are hopeful of collecting enough points so we can go through to the next round of the competition as group winners,” Benjamin said.

Namibia’s next match in the competition will be against Eswatini. The match starts at 18h00 on Saturday at the King Zwelithini Stadium.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

The head coach of the senior national women’s football team, Paulus Shipanga, announced a 23-women’s squad on Wednesday for the 2024 Olympic qualification.

The Brave Gladiators are scheduled to take on Equatorial Guinea in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the First National Bank Stadium on 13 July, with the return leg scheduled for 19 July 2023 at Estadio de Malabo in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

Shipanga said he is impressed with how the team is shaping up ahead of the games.

“The players are in good shape physically and mentally. We depart tomorrow (Thursday) for South Africa for the final stretches but overall the team looks good, no serious injuries have been reported, and all the players are in camp except Millicent Hikuam and Annoushka Kordom, who will meet us in South Africa,” he said.

He added that the Brave Gladiators are targeting the next stage of the competition.

“Equatorial Guinea won’t be a walk in the park, they want to advance to the next stage. We have a blend of tried and tested players, young players as well as new faces in the team who are eager to compete at the highest level,” Shipanga said.

The 23-woman squad departing for South Africa is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Agnes Kauzuu, Melissa Mateus and Quindra Batista

Defenders: Vewe Kotjipati, Lovisa Mulunga, Emma Naris and Lydiana Nanamus, Julia Rutjindo and Ndapewa Katuta

Midfielders: Ivone Kooper, Memory Ngonda, Juliana Blou, Millicent Hikuam and Annoushka Kordom, Hanavi Muhinatjo, Twelikondjela Amukoto, Elina Ulumbu and Anna Somses

Forwards: Zenatha Coleman, Jekohasana Kamatjipose, Anna Shikusho, Fiola Vliete and Kylie van Wyk.

The winners of the first round of the women’s Olympic qualifying tournament from the scheduled nine ties on the home and away bases will join the seven highest-ranked teams from the last Women’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in the second round.

The Brave Gladiators are scheduled to play their first match at 15h00 on 13 July in Johannesburg while the return leg is to be played on 19 July at 16h00 in Malabo.

Source: NAMPA

A group of nine athletes with disabilities and their guides will leave for Paris, France on Tuesday afternoon for the 2023 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Para Athletics Championships.

The 2023 IPC World Athletics Championships is set for 07 to 17 June in Paris where Team Namibia will compete in track and field events.

The championships will be the athletes’ last chance to qualify for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

Speaking during the sending-off ceremony on Monday, Sport, Youth and National Services Minister Agnes Tjongarero encouraged the athletes to use everything in their power to qualify for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

“Because we don’t know what will happen in Kobe next year at the world champs, the time is now for you to secure a slot for your country for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games,” she said.

Tjongarero further commended the Namibia Paralympic Committee for the positive impacts it has made, noting that government cannot do everything by itself and therefore credit should be given to NamPower for meeting the committee halfway.

“The World Champs in Paris, France are a hurdle that athletes need to pass. It’s all on the athletes to make or break it, because failing to do that would affect your chances of competing at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games,” she said.

Namibian athletes to compete in the 2023 IPC World Para Athletic Championships are T11 male sprinters, Ananias Shikongo, Kinda Chris, and Alfredo Bernado, T11 female sprinter Lahja Ishitile, and T12 sprinter Lahja Ipinge, T13 sprinter Johannes Nambala, T47 sprinter Bradley Murere, T37 sprinter Petrus Karuli, and T44 sprinter Denzel Namene.

The athletes will be accompanied by their guides who include, Even Tjiuiju, Hatango Murere, Kelvin Goagoseb, Philipus Paulus and Sem Shimanda.

The management team consists of Jean-Paul Schmidt who heads the delegation, team manager Michael Hamukwaya, Ruan Mocke (physiotherapist), Letu Hamhola (head coach) and Naomi Schmidt (assistant coach).

The team is expected back in Namibia on 20 June 2023.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

The SADC Naval Pentathlon 2023 Games, hosted by the Namibian Navy, started at Walvis Bay in the Erongo Region on Monday.

Namibia, along with Botswana and South Africa, are set to compete in obstacle crossing, utility swimming, live-saving swimming, seamanship as well as amphibious cross-country, while Tanzania is attending as an observer.

Namibian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Alweendo Amugulu in a speech delivered on his behalf at the official opening of the event on Monday, said the games are aimed at strengthening the bonds and further reinforcing the cordial relations that exist between the countries’ defence forces.

“I trust that the competition will be accomplished with good spirit and comradeship among us all and that the overall competition environment will provide a good and positive outcomes,” Amugulu expressed.

The decision to have Namibia host the games was taken during the 28th meeting of the Standing Maritime Committee (SMC) of the Interstate Defence and Security Committee held in South Africa in March this year.

In an interview with Nampa on the side-lines of the event, Botswana’s head of delegation for the country’s team, Major Godwin Mawila Machibe of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), emphasised the importance of the games, noting that they will not only contribute to the fitness of the team, but will also enhance the relations with other countries.

The team consists of six participants, including two females and four male.

“This will be the second time for the BDF to partake in these games, as we participated for the first time in 2017 in South Africa, where we finished in second position. This year, we are aware of what is expected of us and therefore we will strive to get that first position,” Machibe expressed.

The teams are expected to take part in one event per day and the games will end on Friday

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

The #BeFree Ballers hosted a 7-a-Side hybrid football tournament on Saturday at Ella Du Plessis High School Sports Stadium for young male and female sports stars.

The Deputy Minister of Sports, Youth and National Service, Emma Kantema-Gaomas, said young men and women should not think their parents are punishing them by keeping them home and away from drugs.

“Parental involvement is crucial, especially when it comes to issues involving children committing suicide,” Kantema-Gaomas said.

Kantema-Gaomas further added that instead of speculating, everyone should join the fight against drug abuse.

“We need to really spend time and interrogate ourselves; we need to motivate our children; we need to speak to them on a daily basis,” Kantema-Gaomas said.

Speaking at the same event was David Emvula, a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist at Lady Pohamba Private Hospital, who highlighted the dangers associated with drug usage and urged the youth to stay away from smoking hookah pipes and marijuana.

“Sportspersons will be banned from sports if they use substances such as steroids, which is why future athletes must discover themselves and stay away from drugs. Steroids may be advantageous in the short term, but they will cause irreversible damage to an athlete in the long run,” Emvula cautioned.

According to the newly crowned Women’s Super League champion, Tura Magic Football Club’s Thomalina Adams, men in football make more money than women; more men travel to foreign nations to play football, and only a few women go abroad.

She also stated that she is happy with the regional women’s league that is set to kick off in July.

“With this league, hopefully there will be fewer teenage pregnancies and substance abuse because the young stars will be more involved in sports,” she said.

According to Kaarina Iita, the Head of Programmes at #BeFree, the aim of the event was to educate and empower young professionals in the sports fraternity by offering guidance and support.

“The tournament offers a judgement-free platform for open dialogue where the youth can foster a community of self-awareness and understanding of sexual and reproductive health rights,” Iita said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency