By Carlos Kambaekwa
WINDHOEK
Contrary to various attempts by the Namibia Football Association to pour cold water on the reported soured relationship between the Brave Warriors’ coach Benson Bamfuchile and the Association, a source close to Soccer House revealed that there is more than meets the eye to the Bamfuchile controversy and hinted that Namibia could have a new man at the helm when the continental showpiece gets underway in Ghana next month,
And the 47-year old Bamfuchile will be a notable absentee when a 27-member Warriors entourage leaves the country on Sunday for a two-week training camp in Kamen-Kaiserau, southern Germany.
The gravely ill Bamfuchile was reported as being fed up with the shoddy treatment he received from his employers and threatened to part ways with the Warriors.
However, the country’s football authorities vehemently rubbished the article in an English daily as pure hogwash, which prompted the embattled Association and Bamfuchile to issue a joint statement, distancing themselves from the report after a hastily-arranged gathering hours after news of Bamfuchile’s apparent departure had spread like wildfire.
And while both the NFA and Bamfuchile vehemently denied any animosity between them, the NFA’s Acting Secretary-General Barry Rukoro threw the cat amongst the pigeons when he acknowledged that there could be some measure of truth in Bamfuchile’s reported resignation since the coach has been apparently showing signs of amnesia of late.
Rukoro’s statement could well be interpreted as declaring the coach unfit to hold such an important position while in an unstable state of mind – hence his sudden departure to his native country to seek further medical advice and subsequent rehabilitation raises a few eyebrows at this crucial time.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the NFA had already identified a highly qualified person to assist Bamfuchile’s joint deputies Ronnie Kanalelo and Brian Isaacs with the technical aspects of the game ahead of the Warriors’ participation in the finals of the African Cup of Nation in Ghana next January.
It is not clear why an outsider has to be brought in to render technical advice while the NFA has a full time technical adviser in Seth Boois.
When approached for comment on the latest developments surrounding the coaching department, Boois pleaded ignorance and said he was like a blind man in a dark room, as he has ostensibly not been properly briefed.
The Warriors open their assault in the 3-week continental showpiece with a date against Morocco on January 21 in Accra, and take on hosts Ghana in their second match two days later, before they confront Guinea to complete their assignment in the group stages on the 28th in Sekondi.
Seven players who are plying their trade outside Namibian shores are included in the 20-man players’ squad of the 27-member entourage to travel to Germany, with the bulk coming from locally-based footballers.
The foreign legion are Letu Shatumwene, Collin Benjamin, Quinton Jacobs, Oliver Risser, Maleagi Ngarizemo, Freedom Puriza and Ivan Namaseb.
The team returns on the 23rd and will have a three-day breather during the Christmas break before assembling again on the 27th of December 2007 in preparation for Namibia’s forthcoming International friendlies against Egypt and Senegal on the 5th and 12th of January respectively.
The Warriors will be treated to a gala dinner on the 15th of January at a yet to be named venue in Windhoek before departing for Ghana two days later.
Meanwhile, the Namibian Under 20 team was held to 1-all draw by Angola in their second match in the Confederation of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) competition at the Kanyamazane stadium in Nelspruit yesterday.
The Young Warriors need to win their last group match against Zambia at the Tulamahashe stadium tomorrow and hope Seychelles stop the Angolans right in their tracks when the two nations complete their assignment in Group-A at the Tulamahashe stadium tomorrow.
Zambia are leading Group-A by 4 points, the same number as Namibia but the Zambians boast a better goal difference, with Angola in third place on two points after two stalemates in their opening matches.
The winners from the three groups will qualify for the semi-finals and are to be joined by the best second best placed team in the 12-team tournament, which ends on Saturday.
Namibia have never reached the knock out stages of the annual COSAFA Youth Cup since its inception, stretching over a decade ago.