African Stars, the current leaders of the Debmarine Premiership and a powerhouse team from Katutura have expressed their ambition to conquer African football. 

In an interview on Saturday, during their mid-season warm-up matches at the University of Namibia (Unam) on Saturday, head coach Mervin Mbakera emphasised the importance of the games in identifying and fixing common mistakes before the league’s resumption.

Stars played against Unam, whom they defeated 1-0 in the first tie and went on to play Tura Magic, which saw them emerge victorious with a 5-3 scoreline, while in the last match Stars A played Team B, which the A team comfortably won 3-0.

“Of course, we had a great tournament, playing against Tura Magic and Unam, and winning both occasions,” said Mbakera. 

“The players seemed ready, but there are a few things we need to work on before Saturday.”

Mbakera also spoke about the team’s objective, which they had accumulated a group of players that would challenge Africa. 

“I think it’s high time Namibia started testing themselves in Africa,” he said. 

“The Champions League game is different, and the experience that comes out of such a match is vast – not only for the players and technical team, but also for the team as a whole.”

The head coach emphasised the importance of playing in Africa to professionalise the game in Namibia, which he believes is long overdue. However, he acknowledged that reaching that stage will require them to win matches locally, starting with winning the league. 

“So far, I believe the team is moving in the right direction, with 19 points accumulated in seven games,” he said

“The more we will play in Africa, the more the clubs will be run according to the way we want. And also, I think its high time we professionalise the game, which I believe is long overdue,” he said.

According to Wikipedia, African Stars have competed twice in the Caf champion’s league – in 2019 and 2020. Meanwhile, they have played once in the Caf confederations cup.

- mkambukwe@nepc.com.na