Namibia third at Homeless World Cup

THE Namibian team gave a great account of itself at the Homeless World Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden, ending third overall in the INSP Networking Trophy competition.

Besides the team’s great performance on the pitch, it was also a profound experience for the six-man Namibian team consisting of street vendors of the Big Issue magazine, who arrived back home yesterday. Namibia had a tough introduction to the competition, losing their opening matches 8-3 to Argentina and 19-0 to the eventual champions, Italy.According to the Namibian coach Bethuel Uirab, Italy was far too strong for them, while one of the Big Issue team players, Gioven Somseb, was injured and had to be rushed to hospital.Somseb injured his knee when an Italian fell awkwardly on top of him.Somseb’s injury was not too serious and the whole incident had a positive outcome as Somseb was moved to goalie allowing Namibia’s captain and most influential player Lesley Bamm to take over in central defence.This moved tightened Namibia’s defence and from there on they went on an unbeaten run of four matches.They first beat Switzerland 11-7 to come third in their group and progress to the INSP Networking Trophy competition.Here they beat France 6-5 on penalties in a thrilling match after a fulltime score of 3-all.They went on to outplay the Czech Republic 8-1 and Japan 10-2, before their winning streak finally came to an end when they lost 11-3 to Ireland.In their return matches, Namibia beat France 3-1, the Czech Republic 6-3 and Japan 15-2, before they once again lost to Ireland, 8-2.Namibia then qualified for the semi-finals of the ISPN Networking Trophy where they lost 2-1 to Portugal in a bitterly contested match.Namibia then beat Spain 7-5 to come third in the ISPN Networking Trophy competition.The main competition, the Homeless World Cup Trophy was won by Italy who beat Austria 4-0 in the final.According to Uirab the Namibian team was well behaved and very popular amongst the fans and the other teams.The team will take a two-week break before it resumes training again.”South Africa invited us to participate in a tournament, while I am also trying to organise a four-a-side tournament here to keep the players fit and in shape.”And then of course, there is the next Homeless World Cup to look forward to.It takes place in New York next year and all the Namibian players are dead keen to be there again.- Namibia SportNamibia had a tough introduction to the competition, losing their opening matches 8-3 to Argentina and 19-0 to the eventual champions, Italy.According to the Namibian coach Bethuel Uirab, Italy was far too strong for them, while one of the Big Issue team players, Gioven Somseb, was injured and had to be rushed to hospital.Somseb injured his knee when an Italian fell awkwardly on top of him.Somseb’s injury was not too serious and the whole incident had a positive outcome as Somseb was moved to goalie allowing Namibia’s captain and most influential player Lesley Bamm to take over in central defence.This moved tightened Namibia’s defence and from there on they went on an unbeaten run of four matches.They first beat Switzerland 11-7 to come third in their group and progress to the INSP Networking Trophy competition.Here they beat France 6-5 on penalties in a thrilling match after a fulltime score of 3-all.They went on to outplay the Czech Republic 8-1 and Japan 10-2, before their winning streak finally came to an end when they lost 11-3 to Ireland.In their return matches, Namibia beat France 3-1, the Czech Republic 6-3 and Japan 15-2, before they once again lost to Ireland, 8-2.Namibia then qualified for the semi-finals of the ISPN Networking Trophy where they lost 2-1 to Portugal in a bitterly contested match.Namibia then beat Spain 7-5 to come third in the ISPN Networking Trophy competition.The main competition, the Homeless World Cup Trophy was won by Italy who beat Austria 4-0 in the final.According to Uirab the Namibian team was well behaved and very popular amongst the fans and the other teams.The team will take a two-week break before it resumes training again.”South Africa invited us to participate in a tournament, while I am also trying to organise a four-a-side tournament here to keep the players fit and in shape.”And then of course, there is the next Homeless World Cup to look forward to.It takes place in New York next year and all the Namibian players are dead keen to be there again.- Namibia Sport