Namibia ready to host African Women's Championship from Saturday

Published on: 06 October 2014
Namibia ready to host African Women's Championship from Saturday
Namibia

Nambia authorities says they are ready to host the 9th edition of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women’s Football Championship taking place from Saturday October 11 to October 25 in Windhoek.

The President of the Namibia Football Association (NFA), John Muinjo, has called on Namibians to rally behind the national women’s soccer team, the Brave Gladiators, during the tournament as the move is meant to galvanise support not only for the team but also for the competition.

The Brave Gladiators go into battle with seven other African teams for the bragging rights of the women football on the continent.

Other teams taking part in the biennial competition are Algeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia.

Namibia is drawn in Group A up against Zambia, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire. While Group B - dubbed the group of death ? consists of Algeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and South Africa.

Muinjo made a clarion call on football supporters to buy replica jerseys of the national team and ‘paint the country’ red during the team’s matches.

He said the spirit of the team will “be highly boosted” if all Namibians can acquire the national team replica jerseys and wear them, especially on Fridays.

“We need to have the women championship fever going, and as Namibians we can add motivation to our team and push them to new heights by buying the team’s replica jerseys and wearing them on Fridays in support of the team. The team needs our support and we have to show them that we are behind them and believe in them,” said the football chief.

Meanwhile, the Algerian and Ghanaian teams arrived in Namibia on Sunday, and the remaining five teams are expected as from October 7.

Algerians were the first to arrive, after a 38-member delegation touched down at the Hosea Kutako International Airport on September 28.

Head coach Azzedine Chih told the Namibia Press Agency (Nampa) that they decided to come early for the team to acclimatise as well as to prepare the youthful team against tough opponents in Group B.

“We have been drawn in a tough group, and it will be very difficult if we do not get used to the environment first,” he said, adding that they have been together for the last six months only.

“If we are to have any chance of beating Ghana, Cameroon, and South Africa, who have already been at the World Cup and Olympics, then getting used to the place and weather will be a great start,” he was quoted as saying.

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Learn more