African Stars Academy says its participation in the Madrid Cup 2026 has created new opportunities for players while exposing areas for improvement in Namibian football.
The academy recently returned from the prestigious youth tournament in Madrid, where it faced mainly Spanish opposition.
Speaking to Desert FM recently, Katjivirue described the tournament as an important learning opportunity.
“It was a great exposure for the boys just to be on that stage and compete among the best academies around the world,” he said.
Katjivirue said he believes African Stars achieved their objective of introducing themselves on the international stage, revealing that the team’s performances attracted attention from one of the local Madrid academies.
“After our first match, the technical director and coach invited us to another tournament they host, featuring top clubs. It showed we did not just go there to participate, but to compete.”
He said the invitation is likely to be considered in the future, although the academy is unlikely to attend this year.
The coach also said several players drew interest from coaches and scouts during the tournament.
“There were one or two interactions involving players who raised eyebrows. We don’t know how far those developments will go, but inquiries were made,” he said.
Comparing the standard of football, Katjivirue said European academies place a strong emphasis on possession-based football, tactical discipline and structured play.
“As a country, one of the areas we need to improve is to play possession-based football and remain structured while playing to the strengths of our players,” he said.
Katjivirue stressed that exposing young Namibian footballers to international competition is essential for the country’s long-term football development.
“We can only know how good we are as a nation when we expose more of our junior players. These are the players we are preparing for future national team representation.”
He added that Namibia still faces challenges such as limited access to quality football fields and training opportunities compared to European nations, where young players benefit from greater infrastructure and regular competition.
Looking ahead, African Stars Academy intends to make international participation a permanent feature of its youth development programme.
“We don’t want this to be a one-time experience. We want to make it an annual thing where we participate in at least one international tournament every year. This was just the beginning,” Katjivirue said.
