Optimism about Nations Cup bid

NAMIBIA has the best chance to host the 2010 African Nations Cup of all the countries that submitted bids, Sport permanent secretary Peingondjabi Shipoh declared yesterday.

Shipoh spoke at the official launch of Namibia’s bid for the continental tournament. He said Namibia, compared to other countries that are vying for the bid, is politically stable and its infrastructure is of top quality, while it can easily meet all the requirements to host a tournament of such magnitude.Apart from Namibia, the other countries that are bidding for the tournament are Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, Libya, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.”We do not think that the political events in those countries of late will give them that edge.Namibia also has the advantage because of existing infrastructure.Some of the other countries have to develop their infrastructure from scratch,” Shipoh said.He said the main centres that are targeted to host the event are Windhoek, Oshakati and Swakopmund.Windhoek has the newly constructed Sam Nujoma Stadium in Katutura, the Independence Stadium in Olympia, while at Swakopmund, a new multiple sports facility is currently under construction.Oshakati’s stadium is also called the Independence Stadium.Other advantages that put Namibia ahead are its well-developed road network, its accessibility to neighbouring countries, a good telecommunications set-up and its relative low costs of hosting it.The low costs include the upgrading of stadiums, which Shipoh says can be realised with the bilateral agreements that Namibia has for infrastructure development and assistance.Namibia spent about N$500 000 on compiling the bid document, which was submitted to the headquarters of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cairo, Egypt, at the end of October.Shipoh emphasised that the support of the Namibian business community will be vital to realise the hosting of the cup, provided they support the initiative that was approved by Cabinet with no difficulty.The Namibia Football Association (NFA) serves as the bidding authority and it will be expected to spearhead the process with various stakeholders.At this stage, Namibia is conducting a feasibility study to assess the costs of upgrading the stadiums.The total budget for this is expected to be determined next year.Shipoh asked for the nation to rally behind the bid, as it will have advantages such as job creation, foreign earning potential, investment in the hospitality sector, merchandising, banking, commercial, transport as well as arts and crafts vendors.It is the first time that Namibia bids for the event, which is predominantly held in North Africa.South Africa is the only sub-Saharan country that has hosted the tournament.Shipoh said Namibia has a three-year build-up to the tournament and would also like to play host to contestants in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa for training purposes.The local organising committee, which currently operates on an interim basis, will in future be expected to expand and their main tasks will be to rally support for the bid and do fundraising for the campaign.They also have to secure commitments from possible sponsors, while they will also plan the inspection visit and prepare for the CAF presentation.By March next year, CAF officials will inspect the facilities in Namibia and will compile a report for CAF.Namibia will by May next year make a presentation to CAF on why they think the country should be the host, upon which voting will take place to decide the winning candidate.He said Namibia, compared to other countries that are vying for the bid, is politically stable and its infrastructure is of top quality, while it can easily meet all the requirements to host a tournament of such magnitude.Apart from Namibia, the other countries that are bidding for the tournament are Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, Libya, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.”We do not think that the political events in those countries of late will give them that edge.Namibia also has the advantage because of existing infrastructure.Some of the other countries have to develop their infrastructure from scratch,” Shipoh said.He said the main centres that are targeted to host the event are Windhoek, Oshakati and Swakopmund.Windhoek has the newly constructed Sam Nujoma Stadium in Katutura, the Independence Stadium in Olympia, while at Swakopmund, a new multiple sports facility is currently under construction.Oshakati’s stadium is also called the Independence Stadium.Other advantages that put Namibia ahead are its well-developed road network, its accessibility to neighbouring countries, a good telecommunications set-up and its relative low costs of hosting it.The low costs include the upgrading of stadiums, which Shipoh says can be realised with the bilateral agreements that Namibia has for infrastructure development and assistance.Namibia spent about N$500 000 on compiling the bid document, which was submitted to the headquarters of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cairo, Egypt, at the end of October.Shipoh emphasised that the support of the Namibian business community will be vital to realise the hosting of the cup, provided they support the initiative that was approved by Cabinet with no difficulty.The Namibia Football Association (NFA) serves as the bidding authority and it will be expected to spearhead the process with various stakeholders.At this stage, Namibia is conducting a feasibility study to assess the costs of upgrading the stadiums.The total budget for this is expected to be determined next year.Shipoh asked for the nation to rally behind the bid, as it will have advantages such as job creation, foreign earning potential, investment in the hospitality sector, merchandising, banking, commercial, transport as well as arts and crafts vendors.It is the first time that Namibia bids for the event, which is predominantly held in North Africa.South Africa is the only sub-Saharan country that has hosted the tournament.Shipoh said Namibia has a three-year build-up to the tournament and would also like to play host to contestants in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa for training purposes.The local organising committee, which currently operates on an interim basis, will in future be expected to expand and their main tasks will be to rally support for the bid and do fundraising for the campaign.They also have to secure commitments from possible sponsors, while they will also plan the inspection visit and prepare for the CAF presentation.By March next year, CAF officials will inspect the facilities in Namibia and will compile a report for CAF.Namibia will by May next year make a presentation to CAF on why they think the country should be the host, upon which voting will take place to decide the winning candidate.