NFA wants Murape as caretaker coach

THE Executive Committee of the Namibia Football Association (NFA) on Saturday decided to ask Blue Waters’ coach Shepherd Murape to act as caretaker coach for the Brave Warriors.

Murape, if he accepts the appointment, will be expected to prepare Namibia for the Cosafa Castle Cup preliminary round match against Angola on May 9 in Luanda. NFA President Petrus Damaseb announced that his executive committee, which met over the weekend, decided to offer the post to the Zimbabwean national.Murape was chosen ahead of Eric Muinjo, Brian Isaacs and Max Johnson, who had been also been shortlisted.Damaseb said Murape was selected as he had instilled a high level of discipline among his players at Blue Waters, while they have shown themselves to be a physically fit side.”We were impressed with these two important aspects and we believe that he will be the man who can lead the Brave Warriors accordingly,” said Damaseb.Murape coached Namibia shortly after independence and has worked with several South African premier league clubs as well as his own national side.Damaseb said Murape would be expected to take charge of the senior national team and draft in an assistant coach and a team manager of his choice.Damaseb said Murape’s salary would be performance-based, but still had to be negotiated with him.The two assistant coaches, Rusten Mogane and Bernard Kaanjuka, who worked with former Technical Director Peter Ueberjahn, are likely to part ways with the national set-up.The NFA has kept mum on their status since Ueberjahn quit.Murape was not in town over the weekend and could not confirm his availability or otherwise for the coaching job.Blue Waters’ owner Hendrik Davids said earlier that if the NFA wanted to hire Murape for the national team, a deal would have to be agreed that would ensure the coastal team’s interests are not compromised.Murape is contracted to Blue Waters until the end of the year.Blue Waters are currently the league leaders and stand a good chance of winning the title if they continue their winning streak.Previously Murape was sacked by South Africa’s Manning Rangers after a poor spell in the domestic league saw the side ending in 12th position (out of 16 teams) during the 2001/02 season.NFA President Petrus Damaseb announced that his executive committee, which met over the weekend, decided to offer the post to the Zimbabwean national. Murape was chosen ahead of Eric Muinjo, Brian Isaacs and Max Johnson, who had been also been shortlisted. Damaseb said Murape was selected as he had instilled a high level of discipline among his players at Blue Waters, while they have shown themselves to be a physically fit side. “We were impressed with these two important aspects and we believe that he will be the man who can lead the Brave Warriors accordingly,” said Damaseb. Murape coached Namibia shortly after independence and has worked with several South African premier league clubs as well as his own national side. Damaseb said Murape would be expected to take charge of the senior national team and draft in an assistant coach and a team manager of his choice. Damaseb said Murape’s salary would be performance-based, but still had to be negotiated with him. The two assistant coaches, Rusten Mogane and Bernard Kaanjuka, who worked with former Technical Director Peter Ueberjahn, are likely to part ways with the national set-up. The NFA has kept mum on their status since Ueberjahn quit. Murape was not in town over the weekend and could not confirm his availability or otherwise for the coaching job. Blue Waters’ owner Hendrik Davids said earlier that if the NFA wanted to hire Murape for the national team, a deal would have to be agreed that would ensure the coastal team’s interests are not compromised. Murape is contracted to Blue Waters until the end of the year. Blue Waters are currently the league leaders and stand a good chance of winning the title if they continue their winning streak. Previously Murape was sacked by South Africa’s Manning Rangers after a poor spell in the domestic league saw the side ending in 12th position (out of 16 teams) during the 2001/02 season.