Namibia’s representatives in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) inter-club competitions are preparing for challenging continental campaigns, with African Stars set to compete in the CAF Champions League and Unam FC making their debut in the CAF Confederation Cup.
African Stars, the newly crowned Namibian champions, will face Gabonese side AS Mangasport in the Champions League preliminary round, while NFA Cup winners Unam have been drawn against Angolan club Kabuscorp SCP in the Confederation Cup.
African Stars coach Ronnie Kanalelo says preparations have gradually taken shape after a slow start caused by players arriving at different times.
“We started very slowly. Obviously some of our players were all over the place, trying out other opportunities and sometimes other players did not arrive at the same time,” Kanalelo says.
He says the past two weeks had been more productive, with new additions joining the squad and returning players helping the team regain its shape.
African Stars have also done their homework on AS Mangasport, with Kanalelo saying the technical team has analysed matches from the Gabonese side’s previous season.
“We know exactly what we are facing. We know exactly how they play and what they want to do,” he says.
The first leg takes place in Gabon on 5 September, before African Stars host Mangasport on 12 September.
Kanalelo believes securing a favourable result away from home would put Stars in a stronger position heading into the return leg.
“It’s always good to play your first leg away and come out with a favourable result and get a job in your own backyard,” he says.
The coach also stresses the importance of squad depth, particularly with continental football placing greater demands on players.
He says the quality of the squad needs to be sufficiently balanced to allow African Stars to maintain their intensity and tactical approach throughout the tie.
Meanwhile, Unam FC will be entering continental football for the first time after winning the NFA Cup.
Team manager Eleni Eto Sakaria describes the qualification as an important milestone for the University of Namibia (Unam) and a reward for the club’s domestic campaign.
Unam’s preparation has focused on fitness, recovery, nutrition and the mental demands of playing on the continental stage.
“We want them to embrace the occasion rather than fear it. They must understand that they belong on that stage,” Sakaria says.
Despite being debutants, Unam are not travelling simply to gain experience. Sakaria says the club wants to compete and progress beyond the preliminary round.
“We are not entering simply just to make up the numbers or gain experience. We want to compete and we want to go further than these preliminary rounds,” he says.
For African Stars, however, Kanalelo is keeping the focus firmly on the immediate challenge rather than looking too far ahead.
“The first hurdle is obviously to deal with AS Mangasport. And after AS Mangasport we can talk about going further,” he says.
With both clubs now preparing for their respective continental assignments, Namibia’s hopes will rest on African Stars FC and Unam FC as they look to turn domestic success into progress on the African stage.
