2015-04-16Staff Report 2 WINDHOEK - For the umpteenth time, local amateur boxers were again left to kick their heels in frustration after learning yesterday that Namibia will not be participating in this month’s African Boxing Confederation (ABC) Zone-4 Championship in Pretoria, South Africa. Secretary general of the Namibia Boxing Federation (NBF) Joe Kaperu yesterday revealed to New Era Sport that they had to call off their zonal championship participation due to insufficient funds, as there is no money to accommodate the trip to South Africa – leading to the cancellation of a planned training camp for the boxers. The ABC Zone-4 Championship was initially scheduled for the first week of this month but it was moved to April 21-26. Had Namibia participated in the championship, it would have served as a perfect preparatory platform for the amateur boxers who might, if funds are available, represent the country at this year’s African Confederation Boxing Championships slatted for Morocco August 15-25. “We really wanted the team to participate at this month’s championship but we have no money to fund such a trip. In fact, we didn’t even have money to put up a proper training camp for the boxers prior to the championship. Sending out a team means they also have to be accommodated by sparring partners and that would mean expanding our budget, which is already depleted,” said Kaperu. “But regarding the Confederation Championships in Morocco, we will work hard to secure a sponsor for that trip, as it will be a very important event in terms of preparing our boxers for the this year’s All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville. “Besides the All Africa Games, we also have the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) Championship coming this year in Doha, Qatar, which is one of the competitions we want to be part of.” 2015-04-16Staff Report 2
