Windhoek
Jacque Shipanga (pictured above), the coach of Namibia’s senior women’s football team, Brave Gladiators, has pressed the panic buttons ahead of her side’s clash against Zambia’s Chipolopolo in the first round qualifiers for this year’s Africa Women Cup of Nations in March.
Namibia will host Zambia in the first leg in March, with the return fixture set for either March 18, 19, or 20. The winner of the tie will go on to face either Tanzania or Zimbabwe for a place in Cameroon.
Shipanga, who was at the helm of the Brave Gladiators in the 2014 CAF African Women Championship held in Windhoek, which saw Namibia beat Zambia 2-0, is uncomfortable with the fact that her side has not started with preparations for the qualifiers.
“I will not want to lose to Zambia after we beat them 2-0 in the last championship here at home.
“It will be a step backwards, but we don’t have resources to start with camp and the ladies are very unfit and we need funds from somewhere for us to start with this new campaign to reach Cameroon 2016”, she explained.
She adds that the worrying factor is that Zambia has been in and out of training camps since November and the Gladiators have not even started with preparations. “We gave the girls a programme for the festive season, but as you can see they are very unfit and it’s our responsibility to make sure they’re in top shape when it’s time to face Zambia. The last time we were in camp was when we went to Spain and that is like five months ago.
“We need to have an international friendly match before the Zambia fixture. After 2014 we have two players off to Europe and if we can make it to Cameroon we can have more players and that will also bode well for our development structures,[but] we need help,” Shipanga admitted.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive committee decided last year to change the name of the tournament from the African Women’s Championship to the Africa Women Cup of Nations, similar to the men’s version, Africa Cup of Nations.
Last year CAF released the fixtures for the women’s continental football spectacle qualifiers.
Seven teams will emerge from the qualifiers of the Africa Women Cup of Nations to join hosts Cameroon for the final tournament scheduled for November 19 to December 3.