Champions Kunene eager to defend Nedbank Namibian Newspaper Cup

Kunene region made history last year when they won the Nedbank Namibian Newspaper Cup for the first time, and they are now determined to emulate that success.

Uerikondjera Kasaona also made history by becoming the first woman football coach to win the title, but she was not reappointed and her assistant Simon !Haradoeb has since stepped into the hot seat.

He admits he has big shoes to fill.

“It’s a great feeling and a privilege to be the head coach, because everyone wants to represent his own region. I’ve got big shoes to fill, but we will step up,” he said yesterday.

“It was a privilege to host the tournament last year, and it was a great feeling to also be the winners, because when the tournament started we were the underdogs,” he said.

“Normally we are eliminated during the group stages, but luckily we were well prepared last year, and then we clinched the title.

“Now we are the defending champions, and people will expect us to retain the title, so there will be pressure, but I’m sure we’ll get out of that group because the players I have are very capable,” he said.

!Haradoeb said he has an experienced squad with 10 members of last year’s winning team still available this year.

“So we will rely on their experience and go out to defend the title,” he said.

The returnees include Mcheni Kavendji, who was the goalkeeper of the tournament last year, leftwinger or attacking midfielder Christiano Useb, who represented the Namibian under-20 team in 2024, and midfielder Tani-Tani Orr, who represented the Namibian under-17 team in Westphalia last year.

!Haradoeb said preparation is on track.

“We have a preliminary squad of 30 players we will trim down to 23 over independence weekend, because Outjo Academy’s youth tournament is also over that weekend,” he said.

“The training camp will only start from next week, because most of the players are still going to school, so the schools agreed to let them go for just one week,” he said.

Kunene have been drawn in group D along with the Zambezi and Omusati regions, and !Haradoeb said he expected a strong physical challenge.

“They have physical players, they don’t knock the ball around, they play long balls and then use their speed, but we are ready for them. Hopefully we will come out from the group,” he said.

“Every coach is now under pressure. If you’re a coach, you must know you’re under pressure, because there are a lot of expectations,” he said.

‘MORE PRESSURE’

Kunene netball coach Hilya Nashilongo has stepped up from being the assistant last year, and acknowledged there will be more pressure.

“It’s the first time I’m the head coach, so there will be more pressure. When you’re an assistant coach, the pressure is not so much. When you’re the head coach, the pressure is on you, because you need to make a lot of decisions, but I’ve been coaching for quite a while and picked up a lot of experience,” she said.

“I was coaching Outjo Secondary School at the Capricorn Schools Netball League and we came fourth in 2024, which was a great experience,” she said.

According to Nashilongo there were challenges in the selection of the team.

“We held regional trials at Opuwo last weekend, but we had a lot of challenges because some of the players could not reach the training due to the long travelling distances, and the Epupa consituency could not come at all.

“We tried to reach out through the governor’s office, but they could only provide transport for certain constituencies,” she said.

“We selected our squad of 12 players, and four of them were also part of last year’s team, but most are still at school, so they are quite young.

“We still want to hold a training camp before we travel to the south, and our chairperson is currently drafting a letter to the governor’s office asking for assistance with travelling, food and accommodation.

Last year Kunene failed to make it out of the group stages, but Nashilongo said they are aiming high this time around.

They have been drawn in group A along with the Zambezi, Hardap, Omusati, Ohangwena, Erongo and ||Kharas regions.

“I don’t really fear the other teams. They are obviously well advanced, and one of them has a coach who has already coached at junior national level, so it will be a tough challenge, but we will enter with a lot of energy and high hopes of winning the title,” she said.

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