The Young Warriors of Namibia, who only attended trials and training for a week in July, have been drawn to play in the U/20 Cosafa Games in Maputo, Mozambique. 

The tournament, which runs from 26 September to 5 October, sees Namibia’s junior football side, which mostly consisted of players who played at this year’s Newspaper Cup and players who come from first and second-division clubs, drawn in a challenging group alongside Zambia, Zimbabwe and Eswatini.

Despite the draw being made, the Young Warriors are sitting with many problems as their impact at the upcoming tournament is being questioned, with no indication that they will even make it to the tournament.

“The squad is unfit, only attended trials for a week, have not camped, and have not played any friendly matches since they last gathered in July. Unlike neighbouring countries like South Africa, which had their squad in camp for almost a month,” said a source.

Over 50 players were called up during that period, vying for a spot among the 40 to make the squad. However, since then, there has been no further training or preparation, raising concerns about the team’s readiness.

Head coach James Britz leads the team. He previously steered them to a second-place finish at the 2020 Cosafa Cup. However, the selection of the final squad, which should have been finalised weeks ago, remains incomplete. 

The source close to the Namibia Footbal Association (NFA) shared that the association has no money to prepare the players and made no point of sourcing sponsorship for the players. As the competition nears, the squad still needs to be trimmed down to a final group of 20 players, leaving little time for crucial preparations.

Another frustrated source stated that the Cosafa Cup is a vital platform for young players as it provides exposure, and offers an opportunity for the players to make their way to the senior national team and to be scouted. 

“The pressure to perform and deliver results is immense, but the lack of support from the NFA has left the team and coaching staff ill-prepared for the tournament. The NFA has not been supporting the players or the coach to fulfil their tasks. At the end of the day, they will blame the same coaches when the team performs below par,” the source said.

This lack of preparation is troubling, given the importance of the Cosafa Cup in grooming future stars for Namibia’s senior national team. Several current senior players such as Prins Tjueza and Steven Damaseb honed their skills through the junior setup, and made names for themselves on this platform.  When approached for comment last month, NFA General Secretary Charles Siyauya dismissed concerns, stating that the reports were untrue. However, he did not provide any additional details or clarification, leaving many questions unanswered. -lmupetami@nepc.com.na