Zebaldt Ngaruka
OKOMUMBONDE – Junior Marenga, a young footballer from Okomumbonde village in the Omaheke region’s Epukiro constituency, aims high in his promising football career.
Marenga, a Windhoek-born player, is a dedicated and hardworking young man focused on developing his talent and building a professional football career.
He is the product and a key player for his native Eastern Swallows FC from Okomumbonde village, better known as Tembisa in the sports fraternity.
The 16-year-old footballer joined the Juninho Athletic Academy in 2023 to improve his skills, gain more experience and compete at a higher level.
New Era Sport caught up with the prodigy, Marenga, to shed light on his promising football career.
The utility player plays both as a centre back and in the midfield, which is one of the attributes of a star footballer.
He told the publication that football has been his passion since a tender age.
«I grew up playing with friends in my village. That is where my love for the game started. I joined this Academy to polish myself to greater heights in my career,” he said.
Besides the surrounding influence to play football, he watched other players succeed, which motivated him to take football seriously.
The youngster made headlines two years back when he played for Epukiro All-Stars at the age of 14.
“This was one of my career highlights. It was a great exposure to feature among the experienced players. Epukiro is multi-talented and to be scouted at 14 was an extra motivation for me to take my football career seriously,” he said.
Marenga’s long term goal is to become a professional footballer, play at the highest level and represent his country at the international level.
His achievements in football so far are winning one league title in the MTC Hopsol Youth league and playing for Epukiro All-Stars.
“My target this year is to win the league without losing a single game,” he confidently said.
Marenga said his strength is fuelled by his hard work and versatility makes him stand out.
“I have seen myself adapting to different positions and always give my best for the team. Even the coaches use me to take responsibility for my unusual positions,” he said.
The grade 10 learner at Centaurus High School believes that both education and football are important.
He balances them accordingly.
Gebhardt Ananias is Marenga’s local favourite player, whereas Mamelodi Sundowns’ Grant Kekana is his international favourite footballer.
He is currently playing locally and will keep working hard to grab the attention of foreign scouts.
“My focus is locally here. The future will determine the foreign interests. That is coupled with continuous hard work and commitment,” said Marenga.