Ouseb, Shipahu linked to South African clubs

NAMIBIAN players are linked with moves to South African football teams, while some are destined for clubs overseas.

First on the go will be current Orlando Pirates veteran defender Mohammed ‘Slice’ Ouseb, who is linked with at least three clubs, while Tigers goal-getter Tangeni Shipahu is set to go for trials with SA’s premiership defending champions Supersport United.
Prominent Namibian player manager Collin April revealed to The Namibian Sport yesterday that premiership outfit Amazulu were interested in the services of the former Brave Warriors defender, while first-division outfits such as Ikapa Sporting and Vasco da Gama are also chasing his signature.
Veteran Brave Warriors midfielder, Robert ‘Baggio’´ Nauseb also plays for Ikapa Sporting .
Another team that has enquired about Ouseb is Mpumalanga Black Aces, who want to employ the central defender as their key man in that area.
‘They have all expressed interest in him because of his experience and knowing that he is now active, the interest even came from a premiership side. I think it will be good for him to rekindle his career because his experience will help some of these teams to be successful,’ said April on Ouseb.
He said Supersport United coach Gavin Hunt has expressed interest in Shipahu after the Tigers striker finished as second top goal scorer in the Namibia Premier League (NPL) last season.
‘He will definitely go for trials at Supersport as Gavin (Hunt) wants to see him. I saw him in a couple of games this season and I think he has the potential to make it into the Supersport setup,’ said April.
Another player who will be leaving for trials is current African Stars assistant coach Mali Ngarizemo.
According to April, Ngarizemo is set for trials at first-division outfit Black Leopards.
Currently, Namibia’s Ephraim Tjihonge is the main goalkeeper for Black Leopards.

MOVES TO ISRAEL

April also disclosed that current Jomo Cosmos midfielder Quinton ‘Magic’ Jacobs and FC AK striker Costa Khaiseb will possibly be leaving for Israel soon for trials with one of the premiership teams in that country.
He said negotiations were still on and he could not reveal the names of the teams.
‘We are still talking to Jomo (Sono) to see if he could agree on the terms to release Jacobs, while it is the same with Khaiseb. So it is a wait and see, but it is likely that these two players will play in Israel soon,’ he said.
April says his target is to get at least 35 players into the South African leagues by 2010, but if there are more, it will be a bonus.
‘We have over 20 players in that league now and it will be good to reach the 30 mark or beyond in the World Cup year,’ he said.
April, who has brokered many deals for Namibian players to join teams in South Africa, is a respected manager and believes that players ought to get a better life by playing in lucrative foreign leagues rather than the domestic leagues.
He says although some teams in the domestic leagues support the players financially, they are not exposed to the best of training facilities and do not compete for bigger financial rewards in cup competitions and leagues such as in South Africa and elsewhere.
‘The ultimate goal is to give more players a chance to get used to the high demands of the game, to know the challenges, get around them and to perform exceptionally well with a view of pushing up the status of our national team,’ he said.