Success in any sporting discipline, tennis included, lies in setting up proper infrastructure and adequately investing in human capital, Swiss tennis great Roger Federer strongly believes.
Federer made these remarks during yesterday’s courtesy call on President Hage Geingob at State House in the capital, where he and his team from the Roger Federer Foundation (RFF) briefed the Head of State about various activities of his foundation in Namibia.
The RFF has over the years been active in Namibia strengthening the quality of early childhood education in vulnerable communities, where the foundation has been at the forefront of ensuring that needy children remain on track in areas of health and early childhood learning activities at primary school level.
Responding to media queries on how Namibia can better position herself among the world’s best as far as sports development is concerned, the 20-time Grand Slam champion advised that in whatever sport code, the success of players and their probability of becoming world-class champions solely rest in the kind of infrastructure they are exposed to and the calibre of coaches nurturing them.
“To be quite honest, I think it all starts with the quality of infrastructure the player is exposed to and also the quality and experience of the coaches he or she works with. I myself had the privilege of having gone through the hands of some of the best coaches in the world and that made a huge difference in determining what kind of player I would be. I wasn’t the most talented, but I was fortunate enough to have good infrastructure at my disposal and great coaches to train me. So, the secret to success lies in investing in infrastructure development and training more coaches to train these young kinds aspiring to become top players one day,” said the Swiss world No. 3 player.
Federer, who arrived in Windhoek on Tuesday and visited various schools around the capital as part of his assessment, thanked Geingob for welcoming him with open arms and for morally supporting his foundation’s efforts in Namibia.
Welcoming the global tennis icon at State House, Geingob branded Federer an exemplary champion whose humanitarian work beyond the tennis court continues to inspire and uplift millions across the globe, especially school children from vulnerable communities.
“You could have taken your money and effort elsewhere, but you chose to support us here in Namibia and our fellow southern African neighbours and I can only say thank you for your outstanding contribution to our efforts in education. Your foundation is an important partner and I wish you and your team all the best in your efforts. What you are doing is really incredible and I would like to commend you for that,” said an impressed Geingob.
The main goal of the foundation’s new School Readiness Initiative, which started in January 2018 and will be running until the end of 2025, is to secure a good start in primary education for vulnerable children aged between three and eight.
By the end of the initiative, 80% of Namibian girls and boys would have had access to quality pre-primary education and will thus be ready for primary school. Furthermore, the initiative is aimed at helping the Namibian Government in meeting its obligations in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals. LifeLine/ChildLine and the Church Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) are the foundation’s implementing partners in Namibia.
Federer will tomorrow take on rival and 19-time Grand Slam champion Spaniard Rafael Nadal in a mega match dubbed The Match in Africa in Cape Town, South Africa that is part of his Africa tour. The match will be played to support children’s education in Africa, particularly in southern Africa.