Baby Gladiators could be embarrassed on home soil, says expert 

Namibia face the prospect of being the laughing stock of their home Cosafa under-17 Girls’ Championship because they are poorly prepared.

This is according to Namibian women’s football pioneer Julien Garises, who is unhappy about the Baby Gladiators’ apathetic preparations.

The tournament gets underway in Windhoek tomorrow with a noon clash between favourites Zambia and Mozambique. The hosts get their campaign underway against Malawi later on the opening day.

Garises says the prospects do not look good for the Baby Gladiators who were only assembled for the regional competition last week when the Namibia Football Association (NFA) held trials on Thursday and Friday.

She fears they will likely be on the receiving end, like several of the team members were during the CAF African Schools Football Championship/Cosafa Qualifier at Walvis Bay last year, when Namibia were embarrassed on home soil.

Garises says the last-minute preparations will do little to improve on Namibia’s poor showing in the Cosafa Girls Championship last year when they failed to make it past of the group stage.

“We can really be a force at this level. But because of us not taking football seriously, that is where the problem starts,” Garises told Desert Radio earlier this week.

“Because of non-preparation, we look like we are becoming the laughing stock of these age groups in our region. And that may be even repeated when the games kick off on Saturday.”

She said talent alone will not yield the desired result, which is to be competitive internationally.

Namibia have found the going tough in the competition to date, losing all seven matches they have played and managing to score only two goals in the process.

“We have talent, but it’s important we do more to make sure when we are in a tournament we must take it seriously and make sure we have the best preparation for the team,” Garises said.

“Let’s use this as preparation for the next tournament. That’s how the other countries are preparing, and come back better than before. For us, it’s just honouring games, and then going to the next one.”

After the schools championship, NFA president Robert Shimooshili acknowledged that inadequate preparation was to blame for the home teams’ poor displays.

He said such a situation should not be repeated.

“The more we start early, the more we improve and ensure the best players are selected to represent the country,” Shimooshili said.

TAKE IT SERIOUSLY

Malawi are favourites to win tomorrow’s match-up, having beaten Namibia 6-1 in a group phase clash last year.

The Gladiators’ best bet of ending their dismal run is against fellow minnows Comoros on 13 May.

A win for the home side could see them sneak through to the semi-finals as the best runner-up in the three-group competition.

“We are here finding ourselves in this situation again,” she said of how poor preparations led to the abysmal showing at the last edition, which also included a 5-0 defeat to Madagascar.

“It is sad that we are hosting a tournament of this magnitude, and we don’t take it seriously. The importance of a tournament is not just to participate.

“Malawi, if they are kind to us, will not have high scores against us,” Garises predicted.

Baby Gladiators assistant coach Novita Paulus maintains optimism despite the reality on the ground.

Her outlook stems from the positive team spirit in the camp.

“We did the trials, and we selected 20 players that will represent the country. Most of them play for clubs in the [FNB Women’s Super] league, and they understand everything when it comes to football,” Paulus says.

“We are very much ready to compete – not to participate, but to compete among the best.

“Our loss against them was due to us not getting a chance of preparation,” she says of the team’s ambitions.

“We only had three days to get the team together, bring them into camp, and then you have to go play within four days. But I can assure them [Malawi] if they have to come out relaxed, knowing that they won against us last time, we will surprise them.

“We are very much ready, and we will prove that when we face them on Saturday.”

Paulus says avoiding a repeat performance tomorrow will boost morale ahead of the Comoros clash.

Playing in front of their home fans will also spur the team on, she says.

“We are in a group of three, it’s not a tough group for me. If we draw with Malawi, it will be to our advantage, because I’m not shaken by Comoros.

“They are not tough opponents, a draw or a win [against Malawi] will give us an advantage to go through.”

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