WINDHOEK – Namibia School Sports Union (NSSU) National Coordinator Solly Duiker and the President of the Confederation of School Sport Associations of Southern Africa (COSSASA) Steve Bothasitse yesterday officially launched the annual COSSASA Ball Games, set to get underway in Windhoek today.
The games were initially scheduled for Lesotho but that country withdrew as host at the eleventh hour citing financial constraints and on short notice the Namibian government through the NSSU resolved to host the 3-day games.
Of the ten-member countries this year a total of six countries, namely host Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Lesotho have confirmed their participation and athletes will be competing in football, basketball, netball and volleyball. The venues for the various codes were confirmed as follows: Independence Stadium, Unam Main Campus, Unam Khomasdal Campus, DTS Sport Grounds and at HTS High School.
Speaking at the launch, Bothasitse couldn’t heap enough praise on Namibia for once again coming on board as host nation in such a short notice – it also hosted the games in 2006, 2008 and 2012. In addition, Bothasitse urged all SADC s governments to throw their weight behind initiatives like the COSSASA games and others that aim to develop the youth, as it is one of the avenues for African athletes to reach their full potential.
“Governments must support school sports programmes such as the COSSASA games in order to avoid such situations (referring to Lesotho’s withdrawal as host), because it’s not just a Namibia issue but all countries should get involved and grow the games,” said Bothasitse.
By Otniel Hemabapu