Jackey Gertze, the head of the women’s desk at the Namibia Football Association, hopes the Brave Gladiators’ eye-catching displays in the tn mobile African Women Championship will encourage significant investment in the women’s game domestically.
Limited resources means the country is currently without a women’s football league, a crucial shortcoming that contributed significantly to the Gladiators’ inability to progress beyond the group stages.
While their spirit cannot be questioned, the Gladiators at times appeared to suffer from limited fitness, as they were run ragged by their opponents during the latter stages of matches.
Gertze said Namibia performed well above expectation in comparison to their Group A rivals Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Zambia, who all have established women’s football structures which allow for regular competitive action in their homelands.
“The major reason for hosting this Championship is to promote interest and support for women’s football in Namibia. On the field of play, they [Gladiators] did it. They performed very well in the tournament, but we need to do something extra to help these girls reach the highest possible level,” Gertze told The Namibian Sport on Tuesday.
“We want our girls to know that it doesn’t have to end here.
“Early next year, we are looking to start with the Women’s Super League again. We want a total image change and are looking at a semi-professional setup.
“The more sponsors we can get, the better for the sustainability of our programmes,” she added.
The national selectors are heavily reliant on the Unicef-funded Galz and Goals football and life skills project, and other lesser known initiatives like the Karas Sport and Fun Club run by Keetmanshoop deputy major Gabriel Fryer for unearthing new talent.
TALENT IDENTIFICATION
Fryer has fond memories of one such talent, the current star player of the Brave Gladiators, one Zenatha Coleman.
Other notable players to come through the Karas Sport and Fun Club are Brave Warriors goalkeeper Virgil Vries, who now plays for South African Premier League club Maritzburg United, and another Brave Gladiator Thomalina Adams, who is registered with FC Bochum in Germany.
According to Fryer, Coleman has always mixed her natural ability with graft and preferred pitting her wits against the opposite sex during her time at the club.
“She used to play street football with the boys before she joined us,” Fryer recalls. “She was so frail that sometimes we were scared that she would get hurt. What was notable is that her ball control was better than some of the boys’. Her talent was there for everyone to see from the start,” Fryer said.
Key to Coleman’s progression from that scrawny girl to a national hero was the involvement of her family, who supported her passion for the game.
“Football is in her genes. Her grandfather Salute Coleman was a prolific attacker-cum-midfielder for Try Again. Salute, her mother [Julia Coleman] and other family members were always at her games and sometimes at training to support her. That was very important for her development,” said Fryer, who reckons Coleman’s new found status is equally important in encouraging participation in football among girls countrywide.
“She’s definitely helped put perspective on the women’s football in the country. I’m glad that the girls have a role model, someone who is a reference point for their own ambitions,” said
“I’m happy for women football. Not just for Zenatha, because the entire team really gave a good account of themselves. But what I really hope for is someone to also look into the girls academic progress. It’s important that they are made aware of the benefit of combining education with other ambitions,” Fryer said.
