Former Brave Gladiators vice captain and Beauties FC coach Salome Iiyambo will lead her club into battle this weekend as they make their debut at the 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Championships League Cosafa qualifiers. 

The tournament marks not only a new chapter for Namibia’s most decorated women’s football club, but also a full-circle moment for one of the country’s most pioneering figures in the women’s game.

Beauties FC booked their place at the regional showpiece by clinching the FNB Women’s Super League title, marking their 13th triumph and reaffirming their dominance on home soil. 

However, this new terrain will test them like never before. Drawn in Group A, widely dubbed the ‘Group of Death’, they’ll square off against two-time continental champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies of South Africa, Malawi’s Ntopwa FC and Zambia’s Zesco Ndola Girls. Only the top team in each group and the best second-placed team advance to the semi-finals with the overall best runner-up from all three groups.

Speaking ahead of the tournament, Iiyambo reflected on the challenge that earned them qualification.

“I mean, it was not one of the easiest titles to win. It has been a tough contender. All teams were putting up a good fight, but in the end, only one could win it, and we managed to do that, and we are just excited to say, look, we have done it so many times before, but these are new times, and we came to the party this time around. Not just to talk about the ancient days, but to rewrite history with these crops of players.”

Love for the game started in the village

Iiyambo’s journey into football wasn’t planned. It emerged naturally, from her upbringing, her environment, and a relentless passion that refused to fade. Growing up in the village of Oupumako in a household surrounded by boys, football became a default activity. It wasn’t about chasing dreams then. It was about making up numbers.

“This is a long journey. It has been one of my longest journeys. Every time they wanted to play, they were an odd number and I had to come in to make it equal. I also did basketball and athletics, the 800 metres to be specific, but the football bug stuck with me.”

At Mweshipandeka High School, her talents found structure and direction. By the early 2000s, she was competing seriously. Encouraged by icons like the late Kaskas Angula, Iiyambo flourished, not only as a skilled player but as a natural leader.

“I am from a liberal family type. We understood equality. I would go and look after animals just like any other boy child would do.”

Yet, the journey wasn’t without pushback. When the late Werner Jeffrey first called her to attend a Tisan training camp, her mother opposed.

“This is the time for field work in the village. You cannot go, and if you go, you are not coming back to this house,” the boss lady told her.

But Iiyambo was undeterred. She hitchhiked to Windhoek and made it to camp. When her name was read on Oshiwambo radio as part of the national team, her mother’s stance softened. From that point on, she had support at home.

In 2003, the same year Beauties FC was founded, she signed with the club. At the time, she was based in Rundu, studying to become a teacher. Without formal structures, she and her peers created a team at Rundu College just to express their eagerness to play. Still, her heart was in Windhoek, where the women’s game was gaining momentum.

“Playing for Beauties when I was in Rundu, I would hitchhike every weekend on my own. I needed to go play a match and that was the only way to get there.”

Eventually, she relocated to the capital. She made the national team, representing Namibia in the 2006 Cosafa Women’s Championship, where they finished runners-up after losing in extra time to South Africa.

Her teaching career continued in Windhoek after leaving her former primary school, (International Primary School) where she started as a temporary teacher and moved on to Suiderhof Primary School, then at Academia Secondary School, where she helped form school teams and mentored young girls.

Her impact with the Brave Gladiators grew. In a notable match against Nigeria, once 18-0 victors over Namibia, the team held the African giants to 0-0 at halftime before losing 3-1. The performance signalled how far the women’s game in Namibia had come.

“I played with a great group. If you look at the people I played football with, most are still working in sport or are connected to sport. The likes of Helvi Eliakim, Queen Manga, Leandri Lukas, the late Stephanie Hummel and Mammie Kasaona. Look at Stella Williams, she is the most talented legend that we have ever had. You can play her in any position, and till today she guides players on the field. I admire that she still does that till today.”

Betting on herself and Africa

After years of serving as a regional sport officer in Okahandja and later at the Namibia Sports Commission, Iiyambo set her sights higher, applying to the FIFA Master’s Programme in Europe. With no external funding, she resigned, cashed out her pension, and used it to pursue her studies.

Her journey took her across three countries (England, Italy and Switzerland), and in each class, she was often the only African.

“They laughed, ‘Africa never hosted the World Cup’. I told them, no, please, we held one in South Africa in 2010. It wasn’t easy. But when I beat them in class assignments, I’d say, this is why Africa is so rich.” 

“What do you bring to the classroom?” That was one of the first questions we were asked, a reminder that our experiences mattered just as much as our academics. Where had we worked? What did we know about the broader sports landscape, particularly from our regions? For me, representing Africa in that classroom came with its own weight. It wasn’t easy.

“Our first assignment was to attend a live football match: England versus Switzerland, held in Leicester. It was the men’s national teams. But unlike back home, this wasn’t a free outing. We had to purchase our own tickets.

“I remember going back to my room, calculator in hand, converting pounds to Namibian dollars, the cost was overwhelming. I found myself wondering, ‘Can’t I just watch this on TV?’ But that wasn’t an option. We were expected to be physically present, to immerse ourselves fully. So, I went.

“Throughout the programme, I often found myself as the lone voice defending Africa. Many of my classmates had travelled widely, but only within the confines of Europe. Only one or two had ever set foot on the African continent. I began observing them closely, studying their perspectives, and realised just how important it was for me to speak up, to champion Africa’s story and challenge their assumptions.

“So, I leaned into that role. I shared our stories. I gave context and when the academic tasks came, the assignments, the debates, I let my work speak. I outperformed many of them, and that was my quiet victory. A reminder that Africa not only belongs in the room, but can lead it,” she said.

Eyes on the goal 

Now, however, the attention returns to the pitch where Beauties FC prepare to make their mark against some of the continent’s fiercest teams. 

Iiyambo is currently pursuing a CAF B Coaching Licence Diploma, and due to CAF coaching regulations, she will not sit on the bench for the qualifiers as a head coach but will play the assistant role.CAF A-License head coach Leonard Kati Nambandi of Mighty Gunners will take over head coach responsibilities during the tournament, with Iiyambo and Mathias Haimbodi assisting. -lmupetami@nepc.com.na