Namibian Sporting Year in Review

THE Namibian sporting year belonged to individuals rather than team performance, with the notable names popping up such as boxers Paulus Moses, Japhet Uutoni and long-distance runner Hilaria Johannes.

The three stand out among the rest by putting in remarkable performances in their individual disciplines in which they compete, while the national women’s football team, rugby national senior side, karate and gymnastics teams also brought their part in flying the Namibian flag high on the international stage. On individual level, Japhet Uutoni stands out as he brought home a gold medal from the Commonwealth Games in Australia, while Moses blasted his way to two boxing titles – by first becoming the World Boxing Association (WBA) Pan African champion before he scooped the WBA Intercontinental title.Uutoni, who is not yet a professional, showed guts and determination Down Under as he fought his way to the gold medal despite injuring his hands before his final fight.Moses, who currently has a record of 18 fights without a loss, first made his name by putting away several South African boxers before he claimed the two titles, for which he is awaiting a challenger at the moment.The national senior rugby team qualified for their third World Cup, which will be held in France next year, after beating Morocco in their last match.The achievement follows numerous problems within the code which ranged from remuneration for players and other internal squabbles.It was a heroic effort by the Namibian rugby players, with most having played in the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia.The national women’s football side, alias the Brave Gladiators, ended as runners-up in the Cosafa Cup for women behind South Africa – a great achievement for a rather inexperienced side which has not played consistently on international level.Gymnastics, swimming, cycling and karate are three of the other main sporting codes which also stood tall in their performances on both the regional and international levels.These four codes, which have relatively young competitors, have done well as they brought a dozen of medals from various high-profile competitions, most of which took place in South Africa.In swimming and cycling especially, Namibia has shown that there is tremendous talent, while the development programmes that are effectively run in these codes can still yield a lot of success in future years.The netball under-20 side also made the country proud with a bronze medal at the Zone Six Youth Games held in Namibia despite strong opposition from countries such as South Africa and Botswana.MOST DISAPPOINTING The biggest disappointment this year was the scandal that broke out when the Namibian team returned from the Commonwealth Games, with reports that some boxers had taken some linen and bathroom accessories from the chalets they were housed in.The reports were damaging to the sport of boxing, and were a national embarrassment as Namibian sportsmen and women have always appeared disciplined during many of these international events.The other setback was the delay of the Namibia Premier League after a group of individuals decided that the Namibia Football Association (NFA) was not run efficiently.This resulted in fresh elections being called in all football structures, ultimately culminating in the elections of new president John Muinjo and an executive committee.The national cricket side also disappointed by failing to qualify for the Cricket World Cup which will be decided in West Indies next year.Despite that, the team has picked itself up and is currently producing excellent results in a provincial tournament which has been going on for a few months now.The current squabbles within Athletics Namibia have cast a negative shadow on the entire sport after its leaders consistently failed to find a solutions to international problems, while it severely affected the performance of the athletes in the process.The lack of communication among the regions, unwillingness of some leaders to take advice and the flouting of constitutional laws have resulted in the intervention of the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), while the Ministry of Sport was caught in the middle between AN and the IAAF.A congress is planned for athletics in March next year, where all the problems within the code are expected to be laid to rest, but it remains to be seen whether they will succeed.HIGHS Civics football club remains one of the dominant forces in the premiership as they successfully retained their title for the second year running, while they also scooped the season-opening FNB Cup recently.The team has an array of talented players who fight for positions, while have also managed to be a leading example in youth development with their football academy.On an individual level, boxing promoter Nestor Tobias has done well in promoting the sport and this has culminated in Moses ‘The Hitman’ Paulus who scooped top world boxing titles.Civics midfielder Heinrich Isaacks had a screamer of a season and eventually pulled off a contract with a European-based club.Collin April has done a wonderful job in securing contracts for at least eight players in the South African domestic leagues.Boxing sponsors Telecom Namibia and the Namibia Football Consortium have stood their ground in their financial contributions to these two codes.SAD NOTE Namibia lost three prominent sports personalities in one month after tennis players Suzelle and her sister Janine Davin died in a car accident near Swakopmund.The two were destined for great heights and were leading examples of disciplined and committed sports stars despite their young age.Famous hockey guru Doc Jubber passed away this week at the age of 79 and his contribution to hockey and sport in general will always be remembered.On individual level, Japhet Uutoni stands out as he brought home a gold medal from the Commonwealth Games in Australia, while Moses blasted his way to two boxing titles – by first becoming the World Boxing Association (WBA) Pan African champion before he scooped the WBA Intercontinental title.Uutoni, who is not yet a professional, showed guts and determination Down Under as he fought his way to the gold medal despite injuring his hands before his final fight.Moses, who currently has a record of 18 fights without a loss, first made his name by putting away several South African boxers before he claimed the two titles, for which he is awaiting a challenger at the moment.The national senior rugby team qualified for their third World Cup, which will be held in France next year, after beating Morocco in their last match.The achievement follows numerous problems within the code which ranged from remuneration for players and other internal squabbles.It was a heroic effort by the Namibian rugby players, with most having played in the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia.The national women’s football side, alias the Brave Gladiators, ended as runners-up in the Cosafa Cup for women behind South Africa – a great achievement for a rather inexperienced side which has not played consistently on international level.Gymnastics, swimming, cycling and karate are three of the other main sporting codes which also stood tall in their performances on both the regional and international levels.These four codes, which have relatively young competitors, have done well as they brought a dozen of medals from various high-profile competitions, most of which took place in South Africa.In swimming and cycling especially, Namibia has shown that there is tremendous talent, while the development programmes that are effectively run in these codes can still yield a lot of success in future years.The netball under-20 side also made the country proud with a bronze medal at the Zone Six Youth Games held in Namibia despite strong opposition from countries such as South Africa and Botswana.MOST DISAPPOINTING The biggest disappointment this year was the scandal that broke out when the Namibian team returned from the Commonwealth Games, with reports that some boxers had taken some linen and bathroom accessories from the chalets they w
ere housed in.The reports were damaging to the sport of boxing, and were a national embarrassment as Namibian sportsmen and women have always appeared disciplined during many of these international events.The other setback was the delay of the Namibia Premier League after a group of individuals decided that the Namibia Football Association (NFA) was not run efficiently.This resulted in fresh elections being called in all football structures, ultimately culminating in the elections of new president John Muinjo and an executive committee.The national cricket side also disappointed by failing to qualify for the Cricket World Cup which will be decided in West Indies next year.Despite that, the team has picked itself up and is currently producing excellent results in a provincial tournament which has been going on for a few months now.The current squabbles within Athletics Namibia have cast a negative shadow on the entire sport after its leaders consistently failed to find a solutions to international problems, while it severely affected the performance of the athletes in the process.The lack of communication among the regions, unwillingness of some leaders to take advice and the flouting of constitutional laws have resulted in the intervention of the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), while the Ministry of Sport was caught in the middle between AN and the IAAF.A congress is planned for athletics in March next year, where all the problems within the code are expected to be laid to rest, but it remains to be seen whether they will succeed.HIGHS Civics football club remains one of the dominant forces in the premiership as they successfully retained their title for the second year running, while they also scooped the season-opening FNB Cup recently.The team has an array of talented players who fight for positions, while have also managed to be a leading example in youth development with their football academy.On an individual level, boxing promoter Nestor Tobias has done well in promoting the sport and this has culminated in Moses ‘The Hitman’ Paulus who scooped top world boxing titles.Civics midfielder Heinrich Isaacks had a screamer of a season and eventually pulled off a contract with a European-based club.Collin April has done a wonderful job in securing contracts for at least eight players in the South African domestic leagues.Boxing sponsors Telecom Namibia and the Namibia Football Consortium have stood their ground in their financial contributions to these two codes.SAD NOTE Namibia lost three prominent sports personalities in one month after tennis players Suzelle and her sister Janine Davin died in a car accident near Swakopmund.The two were destined for great heights and were leading examples of disciplined and committed sports stars despite their young age.Famous hockey guru Doc Jubber passed away this week at the age of 79 and his contribution to hockey and sport in general will always be remembered.

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