From the Sidelines

THE early exit of Namibia’s so-called under-20 side from the Cosafa tournament in South Africa this week was the result of poor planning and a lack of patriotism.

Firstly, I will not blame coach Bobby Samaria and his technical staff who took the team to South Africa for the losses, but the Namibia Football Association (NFA) as the guardian of national teams. Samaria was left with no option to board the plane to South Africa with more than half the squad being under-17 players.The reason is that the under-20 players who were supposed to represent the country were doing duty for their clubs in the FNB Cup on the same weekend.These ill-prepared youngsters were hammered 3-1 by South Africa in their opening match of the tournament last weekend, before they went down 1-0 to Zimbabwe this week.Despite the 2-0 win in their last match, their performance is not their fault as they were exposed to tough conditions of play they had never experienced before.Now, sending an inexperienced team of 16-year-olds to a tournament that requires players between the ages of 18 and 20 is really questionable.What do you expect them to do? Firstly they lack the skills and experience, they are too small in stature and the intimidating spectators will just not give them any hope of winning.The NFA’s acting secretary general, Barry Rukoro, said the reason for sending an extra lightweight side to South Africa was for them to gain experience at that level.He said they are being groomed for next year’s competition.At the same time, he said the side lost out in the competition because they do not have enough experience at that level.Why was the team sent to South Africa if they had no intention of winning matches? Firstly it is a waste of money for the NFA and secondly the trip served as a joyride for the officials.Also, this team has been preparing for the tournament for at least three weeks and so much money was spent on their meals and transport while in camp.Well, as a player I would not complain about training with the national side for three weeks, but what purpose does it serve to compete in a tournament that we know we have no chance of reaching the final stages of? It is poor planning from the NFA by not fixing their cup competition dates according to the calendar of regional competitions such as the under-20 Cosafa Cup.This is where the question of split loyalties among the legitimate under-20 players came in.The real under-20s knew that they would be doing duty for their clubs in the FNB Cup semi-finals, but never knew that they would be picked for the national side.The coaches should have trimmed the team to the exact size that would go for the Cosafa Cup and kept them in camp.They should have informed the clubs, which in this case were Blue Waters, Civics, African Stars and Black Africa, that those specific players had been chosen for the national side and would not be available for cup matches.Although teams claim that some of these under-20 players are their key men on the field, they can still use other players from the 30 they register with the premiership each year.I do agree that four or five players from one club representing a national team are many, but I have no doubt that the other registered players were competent to stand in for them.The selectors should have also learnt by now that picking five players from one club is detrimental, so they have to come up with a policy of at least picking a player or two from each club.Players are also put under pressure when they have to choose between the country and their clubs.In fact, the clubs have no right to stop players from representing their country, but nowadays, it appears that the club bosses are bigger than the association.The NFA should put its foot down on this, but has to do it in a fair manner that will not rob clubs of more than two of their players when they have to represent the country while there are domestic competitions going on.It is also important that the NFA and the cup organisers reconcile their fixtures to avoid clashes in future, because the players are the ones that suffer.Samaria was left with no option to board the plane to South Africa with more than half the squad being under-17 players.The reason is that the under-20 players who were supposed to represent the country were doing duty for their clubs in the FNB Cup on the same weekend.These ill-prepared youngsters were hammered 3-1 by South Africa in their opening match of the tournament last weekend, before they went down 1-0 to Zimbabwe this week.Despite the 2-0 win in their last match, their performance is not their fault as they were exposed to tough conditions of play they had never experienced before.Now, sending an inexperienced team of 16-year-olds to a tournament that requires players between the ages of 18 and 20 is really questionable.What do you expect them to do? Firstly they lack the skills and experience, they are too small in stature and the intimidating spectators will just not give them any hope of winning.The NFA’s acting secretary general, Barry Rukoro, said the reason for sending an extra lightweight side to South Africa was for them to gain experience at that level.He said they are being groomed for next year’s competition.At the same time, he said the side lost out in the competition because they do not have enough experience at that level.Why was the team sent to South Africa if they had no intention of winning matches? Firstly it is a waste of money for the NFA and secondly the trip served as a joyride for the officials.Also, this team has been preparing for the tournament for at least three weeks and so much money was spent on their meals and transport while in camp.Well, as a player I would not complain about training with the national side for three weeks, but what purpose does it serve to compete in a tournament that we know we have no chance of reaching the final stages of? It is poor planning from the NFA by not fixing their cup competition dates according to the calendar of regional competitions such as the under-20 Cosafa Cup.This is where the question of split loyalties among the legitimate under-20 players came in.The real under-20s knew that they would be doing duty for their clubs in the FNB Cup semi-finals, but never knew that they would be picked for the national side.The coaches should have trimmed the team to the exact size that would go for the Cosafa Cup and kept them in camp.They should have informed the clubs, which in this case were Blue Waters, Civics, African Stars and Black Africa, that those specific players had been chosen for the national side and would not be available for cup matches.Although teams claim that some of these under-20 players are their key men on the field, they can still use other players from the 30 they register with the premiership each year.I do agree that four or five players from one club representing a national team are many, but I have no doubt that the other registered players were competent to stand in for them.The selectors should have also learnt by now that picking five players from one club is detrimental, so they have to come up with a policy of at least picking a player or two from each club.Players are also put under pressure when they have to choose between the country and their clubs.In fact, the clubs have no right to stop players from representing their country, but nowadays, it appears that the club bosses are bigger than the association.The NFA should put its foot down on this, but has to do it in a fair manner that will not rob clubs of more than two of their players when they have to represent the country while there are domestic competitions going on.It is also important that the NFA and the cup organisers reconcile their fixtures to avoid clashes in future, because the players are the ones that suffer.