Former Brave Gladiators player, coach and general manager of the Women Football Desk, and now technical director of the Namibia Football Association (NFA), Jacqui Shipanga (JS) took time out to talk to Thru Pass (TP) on the strides and challenges of women football in Namibia. She also gave her views on the perception that football should only be played by men and said the media has a big role to play in changing the stigmatic perception of football being a sport for men only.
TP: Looking back to the time you were playing football, would you say it has elevated and how does it compare to a few years back?
JS: Yes, the women football standard in Namibia surely has elevated compared to eight years ago and even ten years ago. We have an elite football league for our advanced senior women and junior talented players, and youth girls leagues from Under U/13 up to U/20 in 11 of the 14 political regions in 14 communities all over Namibia. The U/19 is mainly played in Ohangwena and Khomas regions.
We have a fully-fledged Women Football Department with nine full-time employees with seven women and two men. And we have a huge volunteer base.
We have age-based national teams at junior level, namely U/13 Confederation of Southern African Schools Sports Association (Cossasa)’s annual games incorporation with the National School Sports Union (NSSU).
We have a ‘home’ for our nationally scouted talented young players, called the NFA Elite Girls Centre.
The centre accommodates 15 full-time top players chosen from our Galz & Goals Youth Leagues in the 14 communities countrywide and they go to school from the centre where they have three meals a day and practise football under the in-house coaches of the NFA Girls Elite Centre.
We also integrate tutoring and open talks within the centre schedule to assist the girls with schoolwork and share information on healthy lifestyles.
Women football in Namibia has basically all structures as required by FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and many women and girls come through these structures continuously to graduate as responsible members of society.
CAF coaching instructors are now former national players and FIFA coaching instructors are people such as myself. So of course we have elevated. We just need to elevate in terms of resourcing because we are growing too fast in comparison with resources that still remain to elevate.
TP: Do you think that our country is on the right track when it comes to women football being embraced, as some feel it is a sport only meant for men and that a women’s place is in the kitchen?
JS: Football is a game for all. Women and men, able and disabled, black or white, poor or rich, schooled or not schooled.
Nothing can stop anyone to play football except your mindset. Your choice, your preference, your likes. Just like I do not choose to do athletics or basketball does not make those sports a sport that is played by men only.
There are other women and girls who are interested in playing those games. It doesn’t need to wait for me to like it. There are many girls and women who love football. Some choose it as their only preferred sport. Some play it as a second choice, while some play it for leisure.
Some women and girls play football because they realised they are doing well in it and have a chance to have a professional contract and they too can earn good money abroad and look after their families.
Some play sport to advance an educational opportunity for life such as through the values of the Unicef-funded Galz & Goals NFA programme. So basically it is the role of the media that needs a twist.
To rewrite the benefits of girls and women in sport, so that when a girl enters any female sports code the parents, families or friends help the player understand her purpose, her vision and what benefits this chosen sport has for her and that is something that needs great advocacy, education and case study stories.
Perceptions are always there, but that should not be our focus when we love a sport type. We must make the sport better and better and show its benefits to our society, thus media surely have a huge role to play.
TP: Is enough being done to develop women football on the grassroots level and especially in the regions?
JS: Grassroots football development still needs a tailor-made idea or concept to stimulate interest among the very little girls aged 5-7 years old, to start participating in football activities. Nothing exists at that level.
We only cater from U/13 level (10 years and older). The youth girls’ football and healthy lifestyle programme named as NFA Galz & Goals makes solid provision for little girls to enter organised football structures already at age 10.
We are really proud of the support from Unicef Namibia through the Galz & Goals programme.
TP: Where do you see Namibian women football in the next five years?
JS: In the next five years I want to see the Brave Gladiators qualify and competing in the Women’s African Cup of Nations (Afcon).
I also want to see corporate sponsorship towards our Women Super League and national football teams.
I would also like to see more women taking up leadership positions in football, a well-resourced women super league that is able to pay its players a monthly allowance, this counts for coaches too.
Seeing women football grow into a stable sustainable environment where every player is inspired to choose football as their career.
TP: Do you think that corporate companies should do more to sponsor women football and help in the marketing of it?
JS: Women football needs corporate sponsorship. That is a fact.
Women football is huge in Namibia. Statistically, it is one of the two biggest female sports codes in the country.
Over 22 000 adolescent girls are reached through the NFA Galz & Goals programme alone, with about 5 000 registered for youth girls’ football leagues. Over 600 youth football coaches, sport teachers and community-based volunteers are trained to operate in the Galz & Goals programme alone.
The Women Super League has 300 registered players in the competitive elite female footballers who are making a career out of football and wish to excel in the league to attract professional contracts, get scholarships and get jobs. So we are a big deal and any corporate company that has not yet supported women football in Namibia should ask themselves what more they need to do to lift the hopes of the girl child.
The numbers are there, excellent management, great leaders that are passionate about the game. What more is needed?
TP: How many of our women footballers are playing abroad?
JS: They are four: Zenatha Coleman in Spain, Annoushka Kordom in Israel, Vewe Kotjipati in Germany and Beverly Uusiaua in Taiwan.
TP: The Skorpion Zinc Women’s League, what is the reason that most places don’t have teams in the league apart from Swakopmund and Gobabis?
JS: The Women Super League will grow over the years in numbers and quality. We are not much worried about the slow increase in number of clubs at this level.
If we can even have less teams at super league level, it’s good for the objective of this league. We have created this league to make sure our top female senior women footballers remain active before international qualifiers kick off.
When we established this league we were anticipating to run the league in such a way that our national team players find it worthwhile to play in it. I must say we have partly achieved this in the first two seasons and with Skorpion Zinc Mine coming on board last season, we achieved more.
Therefore, Erongo and Omaheke are here because these regions have constant youth leagues for girls over the years and therefore have the need to have a ‘go to’ senior club when they start excelling or graduating from the youth leagues.
TP: Is there a possibility that we can one day qualify for the Women’s World Cup?
JS: Why Not? World Cup is what every elite footballer wishes for.
It might take decades, might be after our lifetime or it can easily be in the next eight years, but it is only hard work, planning and constant focus and dedication of resources towards a programme that will bring you that close to even think of making it to the World Cup.
Football is a very big sport and that’s how big the work is you have to put in to even qualify for the World Cup. It must start with Namibia qualifying for the Women’s Afcon and compete in it for the second time.
Making it to the semi-finals of Afcon and so on. It is possible, yes.
- Thrupass.com.na