The Brave Gladiators are wrapping up preparations ahead of their Women Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) qualification match against The Gambia on the 21 and 24 September 2023, respectively.
Gambia will play their home match in Morocco at the ElJadida -Stade El Abdi stadium in Casablanca, with Namibia using Dobsonville Stadium in South Africa for the return match.
Gladiators Fitness and Conditioning coach Alfred Ndyenge says it has been two good days of a competitive camp, with a great display of skill and dedication from the team.
“With 48 hours before match day, I’m impressed with the team’s fitness. We are going more into tactical-oriented drills to see if the team will physically react; that will remain the focus for the coming days. We expected more humid weather, but it has been pretty good – and everyone is in tune and knows what is expected of them,” he said.
The youngest player in the current squad, Vijakura Tjengaete, who plays for Girls & Goals FC in the FNB Women Super League, hopes to make her debut for the Gladiators. She captained the women’s U/20 national team in 2021 for the Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Burundi.
Tjengaete started playing league football for Kasaona Football Academy in the HopSol Youth League in 2018. The league, which predominantly features male players, allows a number of girls to play as well.
“Most people feel it’s weird playing with boys – but for me, it was habitual. I grew up playing street football with boys – and besides the physical attributes, there is really no huge difference; we did the same exercise at training, and the coach treated us as equals. Playing with the boys in the HopSol Youth League really helped me to build character as a player, especially as a left back”.
“During school breaks, my twin sister and I usually played seven aside games at school with the boys, one of the male teachers at school noticed and enrolled us in the school team. We played in the school team in the NFA Galz & Goals League before moving to Kasaona Football Academy. Since the first day I started playing football, I knew I wanted to play for the Gladiators. Playing for the Gladiators is playing football at the highest level in the country, and that is what every player aspires to,” she said.
Paulus Shipanga is assisted by Mervin Mbakera, while Herman Januarie is the goalkeeper coach and Ndyenge is the fitness coach.