Issaskar, Barry or the Iron Duke of Namibian football, call him whatever you like but there is no doubt that incumbent Namibia Football Association (NFA) Secretary-General Barry Rukoro is looming large over the affairs of domestic football. His intimidating physical figure accompanied by a tinge of sheer arrogance belies a keen intellect and undying passion for the beautiful game in a career that spans over almost two decades of focused energy and perseverance in pursuit of taking Namibian football to the next level. Barry is a product of the now defunct Hungry Lions Football Club, a club that has produced a significant number of good footballers, who went on to establish successful careers upon retirement from the beautiful game. He was exposed to football administration at a very young age under the stewardship of the late Benjamin ‘Kaurikarera’ Uanivi, one of the shrewdest local football administrators of all time. However, when young Barry joined the ranks of the NFA, as a protégé under the tutelage of often-controversial football guru, Hendrik Christiaan, he was placed under immediate scrutiny and found himself facing a barrage of criticism and hostility from armchair critics, while his frosty relationship with the media aggravated the tension.
WINDHOEK – A keen Manchester United fan, Barry Rukoro started playing football as an outfield player during his formative years at the Don Bosco Primary School (Goas) situated approximately 23 kilometres south of Karibib, in the Erongo Region. It was not long before he found himself manning the sticks in the popular Inter-School club games. Barry formed his own football club at Goas, which he named Brazilian Chiefs where he played alongside boyhood buddies Izando Tjaveondja, the Kgobetsi siblings Katzao and Simon, as well as Ivan and Runold Kangootui.
At the age of 14, he was 3rd in the pecking order behind former Brave Warriors mentor Norii Kaanjuka and Mbiteza Maharero for the school’s team. In between, he would feature for his hometown club Life Fighters in Otjiwarongo during school holidays playing alongside Skelly Kavetuna, Lucky Kuhanga and Percy Tjazerua. By the time he went to further his schooling at the Otjinene Secondary School, Barry was a top notch shot-stopper. Although he started out for the school’s 4th strings, he finally got his breakthrough into regular topflight football when he graduated to the school’s first team where he played with Celle ‘Stone’ Tjivikua, Ferry Kuzatjike, Elkana Mbahuma, Wally Kanguatjivi and Lefa Kavetuna. Barry became the first choice goalkeeper for Otjinene-based outfit Kabasa FC until he joined Katutura based Hungry Lions FC at the invitation of Celle. “Joining Hungry Lions was the real foundation for my involvement in football. The club had outstanding footballers in the shape of Foresta Nicodemus, Justice Basson, Billy Tuahepa, Muuonge Katjihingua, Manuel Mendos, Mike Ochurub, Jeff Tjitemisa, Ringo Skrywer, Hauii Kamaundju and Kallie Bilhawer among others,” reveals Barry. It did not take long before he received his big break in the highly competitive Central Football League (CFA) with the maroon and white striped outfit – replacing the club’s blue-eyed boy, Lesley Basson, between the sticks. The young and energetic bulky goalkeeper kept the more experienced Basson on the substitute’s bench for ten consecutive league matches, but to his surprise and dismay – he was strangely overlooked when selectors called up a combined Central Invitation team to compete against the visiting Bophutatswana Invitational XI.
Ironically, Basson was preferred ahead of Barry – a scenario, which he up to this day jokingly refers to as football politics. “The Hungry Lions team that we had was extremely good and playing with those blokes helped to develope my game big time, not only as a footballer but on a personal level as well. “In those days, a lot of teams used to respect us, because we were fearless and always played our lungs to pieces, notably against the big clubs as can be attested by our good results against the likes of African Stars, Black Africa and Tigers. Even the great Chelsea would find themselves playing second fiddle in many of our encounters. The only team we struggled to get the better of was Orlando Pirates.”
“To this day, I’m very proud and thankful for my involvement with Hungry Lions FC, because I learned plenty about football administration from the late Ben Uanivi. He was the kind of dude who could sell a fridge to an Eskimo without having to shed an ounce of sweat.” Barry relocated to the town of Gobabis in ‘Cattle Country’ to take up a vacancy as Schoolteacher at the Epako Junior Secondary School where he taught history and Afrikaans. After short stints with both Epukiro Chiefs and Maroon Brothers, Barry eventually joined Epako glamour football club Desert Rollers FC. It was with Rollers that he established himself as a reliable net-guard. His arrival at Rollers also coincided with the club’s sudden rise to stardom as the young and exciting green and black striped outfit started to dominate football in the lower division in the same vein his former club Hungry Lions did when campaigning in the lower division. With Barry between the sticks, giant slaying Rollers surprised friend and foe when they reached the semifinals of the lucrative NFA Cup and Metropolitan Knockout Cup competition on various occasions, claiming the scalps of football heavyweights Liverpool, Chief Santos and Black Africa in the process. However, Barry’s fairytale run as a footballer would come to an abrupt end at the fairly young age of 29. He was handpicked to serve on the NFA Interim Committee under the chairmanship of Imms Namaseb in 1996. As a result, he vacated his teaching job in Gobabis and relocated to Windhoek sacrificing his football career to become a fulltime football administrator. During election time, Barry was humbly requested by those jostling for top positions not to contest any executive position and was promised a top job in the NFA structures. He oversaw the Brave Warriors’ historical qualification for the 1998 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Burkina Faso. As fate would have it, Barry eventually fell foul of the NFA hierarchy’s crime sheet and found himself suspended indefinitely, only to be brought back to the fold by the ‘no-nonsense’ former NFA president, Petrus Damaseb, after the association failed to formulate any charges against him. He served as personal advisor to the NFA president, with sporadic roles as Acting Secretary General following the hasty departures of Dawid Hellu and Alpheus Gaweseb.
Barry was finally appointed Secretary-General in 2006 after he single-handedly manufactured the election of NFA office bearers at the hotly contested NFA general elections in 2006. However, his appointment was not as smooth sailing as one would have thought. “When I took over the reigns as SG on a permanent basis, I had to deal with a number of thorny issues ranging from the Brave Warriors lukewarm showing to putting proper development structures in place. It was not an easy task as it took a lot of time, but what was most challenging was the uncompromising stance to protect the association against all the negativity and hostility towards the NFA from most quarters of society.” Barry is quick to apportion blame to the country’s leading football clubs for their reluctance to tackle the burning issue of football development.
“As it stands, with the exception of Ramblers FC, many clubs in the topflight league are failing dismally to pay any attention to the development side and seem to show very little interest, if any, in heeding this noble plea from the World football governing body, FIFA to establish development youth structures in their midst. Quizzed about his well-documented frosty relationship with local media practitioners, the long serving baby-faced football administrator brushes of the suggestion with a chuckle and apportions the blame on pure immaturity on his side. “It has to be understood that I was still young, abrasive and wet behind the ears, but like I said before, I was obliged by circumstances to shield the association but that’s now water under the bridge.” In spite of misplaced perceptions about his genuine level of competence, Barry has worked his way up the ranks and currently serves in various top positions within the global football structures. He is a valued member of the CAF Club Licensing Committee and General Coordinator, FIFA Regional Instructor for Administration and Management and member of the COSAFA Competitions Committee.
By Carlos “CK” Kambaekwa