Local football pundits believe the Brave Warriors’ chances of qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations would largely depend on the return of local topflight leagues, the timely renovation of dilapidated stadia and ending the beef among football administrators.

They were reacting to Namibia’s draw in the 2023 Afcon qualifiers, which saw the Brave Warriors being drawn in Group C alongside continental powerhouse Cameroon, Burundi and Kenya during a televised draw held on Tuesday in Johannesburg.

Next year’s Afcon, which will mark the 34th edition of Africa’s biggest football showpiece, takes place between June and July in Ivory Coast. 

Touching on Namibia’s prospects in the upcoming qualifiers, retired Brave Warriors midfield maestro and highly-decorated former captain, Ronald ‘Stigga’ Ketjijere said the country was pooled in a tough group, especially against Cameroon.

He, however, remains optimistic that Namibia could stand a chance against Burundi and Kenya, but said the prevailing environment could hinder the Brave Warriors chances to progress.

Ketjijere highlighted that the continued lack of an active top flight league, lack of conducive or usable stadiums and the endless infighting among local football administrators could all prove to be major hindering blocks for the national team during and leading up to the Afcon qualifiers.

“I think it’s a tough group and it’s a given that one of the teams will have to qualify and that will be Cameroon. They are a force to be reckoned with and they did well at the just ended Afcon, which they hosted. For them, it’s just a matter of building on where they left off. I think we can match Kenya and Burundi but the situation we have here at home will make things very difficult. Kenya and Burundi have leagues that are functioning, which means their players are constantly getting game time. For us, that has not been the case for four years,” said the former University of Pretoria (AmaTuks) box-to-box midfielder, who is now a practising lawyer.

He added: “Burundi have improved over the last few years and they are a decent team. We can’t overlook them. Only if we can bring back local league football and let our players get some needed game time, will we be able to increase our chances of going through this group.”

Brave Warriors great Ronnie Kanalelo also shared his views on the draw, saying the group and the opponents would have been fair had there been active football in the country. 

He added with just a few weeks before the qualifiers kick off, it remains a challenge to properly gauge if Namibia stands a chance of making it through the group against the likes of Cameroon and Burundi. 

“It’s a fair group I believe, we could have made it out of the group if we had active football but I believe we can still do this after having done it in the past without an active league. I believe that this time around, it would be a bit tough because we do not have stadiums that can enable us to play our games at home. I certainly think those elements will have a negative impact on our performance as a team. For us to stand any chance, league football should be returned as soon as possible,” added the ex Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper.

- mkambukwe@nepc.com.na