WINDHOEK – Namibia is gearing up to host the 9th African Women’s Championship, a biennial competition in women’s football for national teams which belong to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) with eight nations slated to compete for supremacy in Windhoek come October next year.
This follows a decision by CAF to award Namibia the honour to host the event during its General Assembly in Cairo last weekend. Namibia Football Association (NFA) President John Muinjo presented the assosciation’s plan for the championship and received overwhelming support persuading CAF to formally award the hosting rights to Namibia. “CAF is extremely happy that Namibia has taken the initiative to bid for the rights to host this biannual competition, which has been in existence since 1998 with only three nations present at the maiden edition, namely Nigeria, South Africa and Equatorial Guinea,” said an excited Muinjo. Muinjo added that by hosting this event successfully, Namibia would increase its chances to host the men’s football competitions such as the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the Youth Championship and other major football events under the jurisdiction of Fifa.
“This gesture opened doors for other competitions in future as countries that have not hosted youth or women’s competitions, as a measurement of their ability, will not be afforded the rights to host major events as per a congress resolution last year in the Seychelles,” added Muinjo.
“The competition is the equivalent to the men’s Afcon competition and could turn out to be the biggest sporting event ever to be hosted by Namibia, and the NFA is grateful and appreciative for the support and vision of the Namibian government not only to make this showpiece a reality, but a huge success.” The government was also very supportive during the NFA’s failed bid for the 2010 Afcon.
“This event is not only a government/NFA initiative, but should be for all Namibians and I urge everybody to get involved by supporting the Gladiators in order to make sure that Namibia is put on the global map. The credibility and competency levels of the country and passion for football will be at stake, while there will be financial benefits for the different sectors, including a combination of a plethora of complimentary factors for the country.”
The CAF verification team led by the federation’s secretary-general will soon visit Namibia and will be followed by an inspection team.
Publicity and TV rights have been given exclusively to IFAP Sports. The company was also responsible for the 2013 AFCON finals in South Africa earlier this year.
Meanwhile, both women’s football teams continue with their preparations for next year’s CAF Championship, including the 2014 Fifa Under-20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers and have secured much needed friendly matches against Swaziland on October 26 and 28 to be played at the NFA Technical Centre in Windhoek.
By Staff Reporter