Limba Mupetami

The Namibia Hockey Union has announced two senior outdoor hockey teams, male and female, for the upcoming Central-South Africa qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).

These qualifiers will be held in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 17 to 25 August. Apart from Namibia and host Zimbabwe, other participating countries include Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Eswatini and Zambia.

Trevor Cormack, head coach of the women’s outdoor hockey team, expressed his concerns about the late start in their preparations. “We still needed to do trials and select squads.

 The fitness is improving, and should be peaking before the tournament. Because it is a qualifier, we are hoping to end top two to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations’ tournament next year,” he said.

On the other hand, John Weyte, the head coach of the men’s team, stated that their preparations are well underway, and that the fitness levels are good as all the players are participating in the Wanderers Night League and in South Africa. “With the quality of players we have, we would like to set a goal to win the tournament,” said Weyte.