WINDHOEK – Namibia Boxing Federation (NBF) Secretary-General, Joe Kaperu yesterday reaffirmed that Namibia is well on track and on the verge of introducing women boxers at amateur level.
According to Kaperu, the NBF recently amended its constitution and was realigned with the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA)’s constitution, which will now enable Namibia to introduce female boxers at amateur level as it was previously prohibited in the former NBF constitution.
The main aim of introducing women boxing is to at least send two competitive female boxers to the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, and Kaperu strongly believes that Namibian women boxers, if given adequate preparation, has what it takes to compete internationally.
Kaperu added that they are almost done finalising a draft document for the establishment of the Namibia Women’s Boxing Federation, which is expected to be a fully functional federation within the course of next year and will be affiliated to the NBF.
The Women’s Boxing Federation will cater for the overall development of women’s boxing, especially at amateur level. Upon completing the draft, executive members would be appointed and operations will start at regional level.
Kaperu believes it’s the right place to start off, since many females have shown an interest in boxing, but lack the necessary equipment and opportunity to excel in the sport. If all goes well, Namibia will be joining countries like South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique in the introduction of women boxing.
The long-serving boxing administrator also added that they have already approached various stakeholders who all showed interest in supporting the initiative, saying some have also offered to sponsor equipment and facilities to the female boxers.
Women’s boxing has for the past few decades been a serious bone of contention in many countries and was never allowed to feature at any of the previous editions of the Olympic Games until a decision was taken by the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board in 2009 to approve the inclusion of women’s boxing at the London Olympics in 2012, amid fierce criticism from some international observers.