Bid to host the 2010 African Nations Cup put to test

NAMIBIA’S bid to host the 2010 African Nations Cup will be put the test when the country makes a historic presentation to the organisers in the Egyptian capital Cairo in Sunday.

Namibia has never vied for hosting the event before and going in as first timers is monumental for the country and especially for the ones who have been working around the clock to make it a reality. In fact, Namibia has already won in its own right by putting in a bid, but is now facing the moment of truth when the organisers present their case to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) officials.CAF will after all the presentations decide on a shortlist, which Namibia is hoping to be on.To be short-listed is currently the primary issue for Namibia and the other countries which are involved and it is expected to be a tight race.The other countries in contention are Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Senegal and Libya, with Gabon and the Equatorial Guinea having entered a joint bid.By looking at the other countries, Namibia is the least populated country with about two million people.Despite this, Government has been brave enough to approve the initiative, which in many people’s eyes seem impossible.Although there are tough requirements to meet for hosting the tournament, Namibia will undoubtedly meet many of them.Aspects such as the availability of stadiums, accommodation facilities, good telecommunications network, excellent road networks and other related aspects which will form the core of having a problem-free event, are what Namibia can meet with no worries.But the biggest downfall in Namibia presenting its bid will be the crowd attendance at matches.At the moment, attendance figures in the domestic league are pathetic, with the exception of certain matches such as derbies, which attract reasonable crowds.The attendance figures of the national team’s matches have also dropped significantly.Namibia had a fully packed stadium in 1999 when the Brave Warriors faced South Africa in a Cosafa Castle Cup match which Namibia won 4-1 on penalties, after a 1-1 draw.But history after that match tells us that the majority of the Namibian public has virtually lost interest in football after a series of flops in administering the game which spilled over to the performance of the national teams.One would think that this time, the bid ambassadors who will be presenting Namibia’s cause will have an answer to the question of attendance.The other factor will be the funding, which will be needed to upgrade the current stadiums.At the moment, the Government, in partnership with the private sector, will be required to raise most of the funding for getting everything in order before the tournament is held.Namibia requires just a little over N$1 billion to make this event possible.With many private companies reluctant to be ambitious in such projects and put their money where their mouths are, it will take the bid committee more effort to convince all to come on board.Apart from that, there are a lot of spin-offs in hosting this event and it will be inevitable for a country such as Namibia not to win the bid.The obvious reasons why Namibia is bidding is merely economic.The most obvious one would be for the country to put itself on the world map as a tourism destination, while locally the employment opportunities which will be in the offing, will be key.Despite the positive and negative aspects of having this tournament hosted here, I will take off my hat off for the bold step the Government has taken in running for it.This is an ambitious step and there is nothing wrong with having a go at the bigger things.Namibia has held several other regional competitions before and in most of them it has succeeded, and the Nations Cup should be no different.We hope that Namibia’s presentation would be a winning one and ensure us a place on the shortlist for now.In fact, Namibia has already won in its own right by putting in a bid, but is now facing the moment of truth when the organisers present their case to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) officials.CAF will after all the presentations decide on a shortlist, which Namibia is hoping to be on.To be short-listed is currently the primary issue for Namibia and the other countries which are involved and it is expected to be a tight race.The other countries in contention are Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Senegal and Libya, with Gabon and the Equatorial Guinea having entered a joint bid.By looking at the other countries, Namibia is the least populated country with about two million people.Despite this, Government has been brave enough to approve the initiative, which in many people’s eyes seem impossible.Although there are tough requirements to meet for hosting the tournament, Namibia will undoubtedly meet many of them.Aspects such as the availability of stadiums, accommodation facilities, good telecommunications network, excellent road networks and other related aspects which will form the core of having a problem-free event, are what Namibia can meet with no worries.But the biggest downfall in Namibia presenting its bid will be the crowd attendance at matches.At the moment, attendance figures in the domestic league are pathetic, with the exception of certain matches such as derbies, which attract reasonable crowds.The attendance figures of the national team’s matches have also dropped significantly.Namibia had a fully packed stadium in 1999 when the Brave Warriors faced South Africa in a Cosafa Castle Cup match which Namibia won 4-1 on penalties, after a 1-1 draw.But history after that match tells us that the majority of the Namibian public has virtually lost interest in football after a series of flops in administering the game which spilled over to the performance of the national teams.One would think that this time, the bid ambassadors who will be presenting Namibia’s cause will have an answer to the question of attendance.The other factor will be the funding, which will be needed to upgrade the current stadiums.At the moment, the Government, in partnership with the private sector, will be required to raise most of the funding for getting everything in order before the tournament is held.Namibia requires just a little over N$1 billion to make this event possible.With many private companies reluctant to be ambitious in such projects and put their money where their mouths are, it will take the bid committee more effort to convince all to come on board.Apart from that, there are a lot of spin-offs in hosting this event and it will be inevitable for a country such as Namibia not to win the bid.The obvious reasons why Namibia is bidding is merely economic.The most obvious one would be for the country to put itself on the world map as a tourism destination, while locally the employment opportunities which will be in the offing, will be key.Despite the positive and negative aspects of having this tournament hosted here, I will take off my hat off for the bold step the Government has taken in running for it.This is an ambitious step and there is nothing wrong with having a go at the bigger things.Namibia has held several other regional competitions before and in most of them it has succeeded, and the Nations Cup should be no different.We hope that Namibia’s presentation would be a winning one and ensure us a place on the shortlist for now.