Windhoek
Ahead of the upcoming Afcon qualifiers and the 2016 Cosafa Castle Cup at home, the Brave Warriors have started with preparations in earnest as 17 players departed for a two-week training camp at the Lizzy sports centre in Accra, Ghana.
The Brave Warriors will look to finish well in the Afcon qualifiers as they host Niger on June 4, before finishing with a trip to group leader Senegal in September.
They will start the defence of the Cosafa Castle Cup they won in South Africa last year with a quarterfinals clash against Botswana on June 18 at the Sam Nujoma Stadium. Earlier this week 17 locally based footballers flew out to Ghana under the tutelage of coach Ricardo Mannetti.
“First up is the Afcon qualifiers where we need to get good results in our final two games. Niger will be tough as they have the same aim for the group of finishing second and so we have to prepare well and do our best. It will be an ideal consolation if we can finish second in the Afcon qualifiers,” says Mannetti.
Namibia sits fourth in Group K on three points, the same as third placed Niger, with Burundi second on six points and Senegal at the top on 12 points.
The coach is also planning for the defence of the Cosafa Cup and knows Botswana will be tricky opposition.
“We are taking the Cosafa Cup defence very seriously and we know that competition is fiercer than last year for obvious reasons. We will play Botswana and you know their league has grown in leaps and bounds. For us it’s about good preparations and that’s why I take these players to Ghana. Our league finished two weeks ago and players are now idle but we need to keep them active and fit,” explains Mannetti.
The team will return home on May 23 before they are joined by foreign-based players for a final team selection to host Niger at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on June 4 in the Group K Afcon qualifier match.
The Warriors Cosafa match will be played on June 18 at the same venue as they start the tournament at the quarterfinals stage, while the tournament starts on June 11 to 25 in Windhoek.
The squad: Edward Maova (Civics), David Peterson (Tigers), Denzil Hoaseb (Black Africa), Romario Ndjavera (Tigers), Ferdinand Karongee (Tigers), Edmund Kambanda (Unam), Riaan Hanamub (Orlando Pirates), Oswaldo Xamseb (Tura Magic), Dynamo Fredericks (Black Africa), Willy Stephanus (Black Africa), Absalom Iimbondi (Tigers), Immanuel Heita (Black Africa), Terdius Uiseb (Orlando Pirates), Kumbee Katjiteo (Black Africa), Larry Horaeb (Tura Magic), Ananias Gebhardt (Black Africa) and Patience Gaseb (Mighty Gunners).