WINDHOEK – “Namibia is an extraordinary country with extraordinary people and this is the most ideal opportunity to share the beauty of this land with the rest of the continent – hence I urge all to come out in large numbers and fill the stadiums.”
Those were the strong words of wisdom of the Namibia Football Association’s (NFA) Secretary General Barry Rukoro yesterday during the launch of the countdown to the 9th edition of the TN Mobile CAF Women’s Championship, which gets going in Windhoek on 9 October.
Rukoro could not heap enough praise on the Namibian Government for rolling up her sleeves in supporting in a big way the noble idea of hosting the continental showpiece on home soil.
“The financial assistance and effort we received from the government is a clear act of patriotism and we would also like to thank other sponsors such as Telecom Namibia and Air Namibia, while we would like to welcome Total on board who appreciate the true value of the vehicle called football,” enthused Rukoro amidst loud applause from the large audience.
The competition’s principal consultant, the articulate Isabella //Hauses informed the gathering that in an effort to activate a sense of mass participation, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) has introduced an appetizing campaign primarily aimed at capturing the imagination of football followers while lucrative cash prizes will be up for grabs.
“The whole idea is to engage the high commissions and embassies of participating nations and we have requested several schools to adopt a team of their preferred choice, and would therefore like to urge each and every participating school to design a national flag of their adopted country.
“The school with the best-designed flag will walk away with a prize of N$5 000 in hard cash because we want to promote Namibia as an extraordinary tourist destination,” said the emerging iron lady of Namibian sport.
Meanwhile, hosts Namibia will come up against Algeria in an exhibition match on 4 October, a game tailored to serve as a dummy run for the continental showpiece for a mere N$20 entrance fee per person.