President Hage Geingob yesterday paid a heartfelt tribute to former Brave Warriors head coach and veteran sports administrator-cum-renowned writer Seth Boois, who died last Thursday at the age of 60.
The late Boois, who coached and played for Namibia’s most decorated football club Black Africa during his heyday, also served as the Namibia Football Association (NFA) technical director between 2005 and 2007.
In his statement yesterday, President Geingob expressed his sincere condolences to the Boois family and lauded the unmatched contributions the late Boois made towards the overall development of sports in Namibia.
Geingob described the late Boois as a man of many talents who believed in mentoring and sharing knowledge with the country’s youth through his many renowned writings and through his favourite pastime coaching.
“Namibia has lost a man of many talents. Seth Boois was not only a talented footballer and coach. He was also a writer. He will be remembered for his immense and passionate contributions as a soccer player and coach of the Brave Warriors, which he managed between 1998 and 1999. Due to his love for mentoring younger players, he also coached the Namibian Under/23 football team. May his soul rest in peace,” said the Namibian head of state, who is also the patron of Namibian football through the Namibia Football Association (NFA).
Geingob also extended a heartfelt message of condolences to Yvonne Boois, the wife of the departed, and to the children encouraging the bereaved family to find solace in the word of James 1:5: “If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
Meanwhile, the Namibia Sport Commission (NFA) also issued a statement on Friday wherein it paid tribute to Boois saying the local sporting fraternity has lost a true ambassador and a man genuinely believed in shared prosperity through the development of sports, football in particular.
“Seth was a highly respected colleague in the sports domain and the effects of his untimely passing are already being felt by his fellow colleagues, athletes and the Namibian football family in general. His dedication to ensuring that athletes were successful both on the field and in life is legendary and his commitment to sport development is unmatched. It is with great sadness that I’m compelled to deliver this message of condolences and pay tribute to a great man, someone who was more than a leader, a man of the people. Indeed, Seth continued to contribute to the sporting fraternity until his untimely passing,” said Freddy Mwiya, chief administrator of the NSC.
Known for his calmness and being soft-spoken, the late Boois was born in Otjiwarongo and started playing football at an early age for the likes of Rocco Chiefs and Orlando Tigers in the central northern town of Otjiwarongo and would later go on to claim the throne at Black Africa. Apart from football, Boois was also a boxer while at Augustineum. Boois’ passion for football took him to Arandis where he played for Chiefs and for African Warriors of Swakopmund. He returned to Windhoek and was made assistant to Mogane, who was then player- coach of Black Africa. Soon afterwards, he was one of the first Namibians to benefit from the National Soccer Technical Development Programme, initiated by the NFA in 1990, under Doc // Naobeb, the founding president of the NFA.
With assistance from Bob Kandetu, then chairman of Black Africa and Mogane, Boois became the first Namibian football coach to receive advanced training in Brazil in 1992. He was subsequently nominated to attend a Fifa-sponsored Solidarity High Level Football Coaching Course in Swaziland.
He added to his long list of coaching qualifications the A-licence that he received after attending the Hennef Sport-Schule in Germany in 1998.
From 2002, Boois served as coach of the national under-23 team. Prior to that, he was appointed coach of the senior national team in 1998/99, taking the Warriors through seven matches with three victories, an equal number of losses and one draw. Boois also loved writing. He is the author of two books on the local game, one on the history of Namibian football and another specifically on the history of the national team. Two fictional titles, ‘Blood Diamonds’ and ‘Taxi in Windhoek’ were also penned by the multi-talented Boois.
– ohembapu@nepc.com.na