WITH a bit more exposure, Namibia will increase its women’s football exports, says Namibia Football Association (NFA) women’s desk coordinator Jackie Gertze.
Talent is not in short supply, however, the platforms to market gifted young women have not been at a premium, she says.
“As far as that is concerned, I believe a lack of international competitions is a real constraint that contributes to the lack of exposure for our players,” Gertze says.
But that could change in the coming months with the requisite support, as the national sides and Tura Magic are expected to fly the country’s flag high on the continent.
Gertze believes it is imperative that Namibian football becomes a fixture on the international scene to increase chances of players being scouted to lucrative leagues.
Over the years, and even after hosting a successful continental championship in 2014, Namibia has had to pull out of competitions due to limited resources in the women’s game.
“So, on the positive side, when the champions’ leagues start, our players will get great exposure in this regard. When the qualifiers start and our team does well to go far in the qualifiers and qualify, such opportunities increase,” Gertze says.
“The same with friendly matches. If the NFA approves friendly matches like it did with the Angola games, you never know who is watching.
“So, game time at international stage is the success factor for players getting professional contracts,” she says.
Namibia only has three female players contracted as professionals, of which the most prominent is Brave Gladiators captain Zenatha Coleman, who plays for Sevilla in Spain’s top tier.
Former JS Academy teammate Annouscka Kordom joined Hapoel Be’er Sheva in Israeli Premier League last year, while defender Vewe Kotjipati turns out for Tus Lipperode in Germany’s fourth tier.
“The start of our women’s top league will help too, because the social media exposure through the Women’s Super League is huge. So, competition, competition, competition . . . that’s the answer,” Gertze says.
On that score, the women’s desk has asked the NFA to make use of the Fifa Women’s Football budget allocation to ensure Tura Magic honours its international assignments.
Magic are Namibia’s representatives in the upcoming Cosafa Women’s Champions League and Confederation of African Football (Caf) Women’s Champions League inaugural editions.
They need to win the Cosafa competition for a place at the latter tournament.
“We believe and trust the NFA executive committee will not hesitate to assist our champion team to represent the association and the league if such a budgetary provision is made,” Gertze said.
Meanwhile, the Brave Gladiators are looking to secure warm-up matches to prepare for the postponed Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2022 qualifiers.
Caf last week moved the qualifiers from June to October “as a result of the constraints posed by the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa, and also infrastructure challenges on the continent”.
The men’s Fifa World Cup 2022™ African Qualifiers were deferred to September for the same reason.
The Gladiators bossed two friendly matches against Angola last month before being drawn to play Tanzania, who were due to host the fist leg between between 5 and 17 June with the return fixture in Namibia in September.
“The interim coach now will plan differently, and as soon as her plan is out and approved we will definitely confirm and communicate what BG preparation plan looks like now,” Gertze says.
