Mutorwa wants nothing less than victory at competitions

SPORT Minister John Mutorwa says it is pointless for teams to qualify for regional and international competitions but to return home with no victory.

Mutorwa said the ultimate goal for each team should be victory at the end of each competition. He said he was disturbed by the “passivity” in Namibian sport.”There is no need to qualify if you are knocked out in the first round of the competition.Then what is the purpose?” he asked under-20 football players and their management who left for South Africa yesterday.The team is set to compete in the Vodacom Cosafa Youth Cup in Durban, starting this weekend.He cited the example of the Namibian rugby side, which was recently hammered 49-0 by Morrocco when they went to play there in an African Rugby Confederations Cup.”Namibian players are technically good, but in your case, if you don’t score goals, you are not going to win,” he said.The Minister urged the players to show a “killer instinct”, to play passionately and to be persistent in their performances.”This thing of having a nice time while on international duty and dancing around on the field of play with the ball, does not help.You should go out there and win matches – score goals,” he told the players, who will be accompanied by Brazilian football trainer Manuel Neto.Neto, who has spent three weeks in Namibia at the invitation of technical director Seth Boois, will leave for Brazil immediately after the tournament in South Africa.Neto was here to assess the needs of Namibian football and give advice on what should be done in the areas of coaching and the development of the game.Mutorwa also emphasised the importance of teamwork among the players, and asked them to respect each other and show a high level of discipline while outside the country.He said they could lead healthy lifestyles by developing good values and virtues in sports.Mutorwa said the players were selected for the side because of their commitment and drive to achieve their goals of being the best in the country.At the same occasion, Neto said Namibia has talented footballers but academies to further hone their kills are lacking.He suggested that Namibia establish football academies across the country to produce the best players that can represent the country.He cited Trinidad and Tobago, which recently qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, as an example.He said Trinidad and Tobago decided to set up football academies around the country ten years ago with the aim of making it into the 2006 World Cup.At the time, according to Neto, the Brazilian Football Association assisted the island nation with setting up the academies and identifying talented players until they were transformed into top-class players.”In Namibia’s case, this is also important, as there is natural talent here.I hope that the Government of Namibia will look into setting up such academies, especially from school level,” he said.Mutorwa also announced that plans are underway to set up a sport centre that will train and develop Namibian sportsmen and women.He appealed to the private sector to help with setting up sport infrastructure, as it is too expensive for Government to do it alone.He said he was disturbed by the “passivity” in Namibian sport.”There is no need to qualify if you are knocked out in the first round of the competition.Then what is the purpose?” he asked under-20 football players and their management who left for South Africa yesterday.The team is set to compete in the Vodacom Cosafa Youth Cup in Durban, starting this weekend.He cited the example of the Namibian rugby side, which was recently hammered 49-0 by Morrocco when they went to play there in an African Rugby Confederations Cup.”Namibian players are technically good, but in your case, if you don’t score goals, you are not going to win,” he said.The Minister urged the players to show a “killer instinct”, to play passionately and to be persistent in their performances.”This thing of having a nice time while on international duty and dancing around on the field of play with the ball, does not help.You should go out there and win matches – score goals,” he told the players, who will be accompanied by Brazilian football trainer Manuel Neto.Neto, who has spent three weeks in Namibia at the invitation of technical director Seth Boois, will leave for Brazil immediately after the tournament in South Africa.Neto was here to assess the needs of Namibian football and give advice on what should be done in the areas of coaching and the development of the game.Mutorwa also emphasised the importance of teamwork among the players, and asked them to respect each other and show a high level of discipline while outside the country.He said they could lead healthy lifestyles by developing good values and virtues in sports.Mutorwa said the players were selected for the side because of their commitment and drive to achieve their goals of being the best in the country.At the same occasion, Neto said Namibia has talented footballers but academies to further hone their kills are lacking.He suggested that Namibia establish football academies across the country to produce the best players that can represent the country.He cited Trinidad and Tobago, which recently qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, as an example.He said Trinidad and Tobago decided to set up football academies around the country ten years ago with the aim of making it into the 2006 World Cup.At the time, according to Neto, the Brazilian Football Association assisted the island nation with setting up the academies and identifying talented players until they were transformed into top-class players.”In Namibia’s case, this is also important, as there is natural talent here.I hope that the Government of Namibia will look into setting up such academies, especially from school level,” he said.Mutorwa also announced that plans are underway to set up a sport centre that will train and develop Namibian sportsmen and women.He appealed to the private sector to help with setting up sport infrastructure, as it is too expensive for Government to do it alone.