WINDHOEK – Attempts to get comment from the Namibian Football Association (NFA) to clear the air and shed light over the imminent arrival of a new sheriff at Soccer House, yielded little success with both mobile phones of NFA Secretary-General Barry Rukoro and Brave Warriors team manager Tim Isaacs constantly sounding the unreachable response.
This after news surfaced from the Zambian capital Lusaka that football coach Patrick Phiri has resigned as Green Buffaloes trainer to take up the role of Brave Warriors technical advisor. The ex-Chipolopolo coach confirmed on Tuesday that he is leaving Buffaloes following the offer from the NFA. “The truth of the matter is that I have received an offer from the Namibian FA, who have offered me an appointment as technical advisor,” Phiri confirmed. “When the offer came through I talked to my employers here in the army and they were very supportive and have given me the go-ahead. I could not say no, because they told me they had head-hunted me and our two countries enjoy very good relations since time immemorial, so if we can help it is an honour,” he said.
Phiri, who guided Zambia to the 1999 Fifa Under-20 World Cup finals in Nigeria, has coached Nkana, Napsa Stars and Simba Sports Club of Tanzania and won the FAZ Super League title with Nkana in 2001. It is not exactly clear what the terms of reference of the new man are, since the NFA already has Klaus Starke as Technical Director (TD). – (Additional reporting by Elias Limwanya in Lusaka, Zambia)
By Carlos Kambaekwa