Under-17s in money fix

FINANCIAL woes are haunting the Namibian under-17 football side’s preparations for the CAF African Youth Championships finals set for Algeria next year, The Namibian Sport learnt yesterday.

The side are on the verge of qualifying for the finals but are still not sure if they would go into camp in time to prepare for their upcoming home match against Malawi on November 8. Team manager Jakes Amaning said they have submitted a budget of close to N$600 000 to the Namibia Football Association for their home and away second-round matches against Malawi next month, but have not received any positive news yet.He said the side needs at least N$120 000 to host Malawi on November 8 for their first-leg home fixture next month.They will then need at least N$240 000 for flight tickets to and from Malawi next month, with a further N$200 000 needed for preparation and logistics while the team is in camp ahead of their two matches.The team has only 24 days to prepare for their away match, but there is still no talk of a training camp for them.Amaning said despite the slow progress being made on the financing, they have already played two friendly matches against Black Africa and Orlando Pirates recently, and aim to play two more matches this weekend.”We are still waiting for an official response from the NFA on what happens on the money front.We cannot say with certainty on which date we will go into a training camp, but we will wait and see,” said Amaning.RUKORO RESPONDS NFA secretary general Barry Rukoro yesterday acknowledged that there is a financial problem regarding the funding of the team.”We are working towards securing funds for that and we have received a commitment from Government in that regard,” he said.He did not say how much money Government would make available, but said he would do everything in his power to ensure that the team get into camp and honour their obligations.The Namibian Sport could not get confirmation from the Director of Sport, Vetumbuavi Veii, on the matter, as he was out of the country on official business.Namibia have not lost any of their four matches in the competition and if they beat Malawi, they will book themselves a place in the finals.In their first match, the Baby Warriors coached by Kornelius Dominikus and Willem Kapukare blasted Lesotho 5-0 away, before they buried them 4-0 in a fixture at home.They went on to draw 0-all against Zambia, before they dismissed that side 4-2 on penalties after a goalless draw in Windhoek last month.The only hurdle will be Malawi, who have an impressive record of beating Mozambique (4-0 and 1-0), South Africa (1-0 and 2-1) in their encounters.This means that South Africa have been dumped out of the competition.The other second-round fixtures will see Burkina Faso taking on Rwanda, Angola meeting Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast going up against Niger and Ghana tackling Gambia.Also, Guinea meet Benin, while Eritrea have a date with Cameroon.All matches will be played on a home and away basis on the weekends of November 8 and November 21.Team manager Jakes Amaning said they have submitted a budget of close to N$600 000 to the Namibia Football Association for their home and away second-round matches against Malawi next month, but have not received any positive news yet.He said the side needs at least N$120 000 to host Malawi on November 8 for their first-leg home fixture next month.They will then need at least N$240 000 for flight tickets to and from Malawi next month, with a further N$200 000 needed for preparation and logistics while the team is in camp ahead of their two matches.The team has only 24 days to prepare for their away match, but there is still no talk of a training camp for them.Amaning said despite the slow progress being made on the financing, they have already played two friendly matches against Black Africa and Orlando Pirates recently, and aim to play two more matches this weekend.”We are still waiting for an official response from the NFA on what happens on the money front.We cannot say with certainty on which date we will go into a training camp, but we will wait and see,” said Amaning. RUKORO RESPONDS NFA secretary general Barry Rukoro yesterday acknowledged that there is a financial problem regarding the funding of the team.”We are working towards securing funds for that and we have received a commitment from Government in that regard,” he said.He did not say how much money Government would make available, but said he would do everything in his power to ensure that the team get into camp and honour their obligations.The Namibian Sport could not get confirmation from the Director of Sport, Vetumbuavi Veii, on the matter, as he was out of the country on official business.Namibia have not lost any of their four matches in the competition and if they beat Malawi, they will book themselves a place in the finals.In their first match, the Baby Warriors coached by Kornelius Dominikus and Willem Kapukare blasted Lesotho 5-0 away, before they buried them 4-0 in a fixture at home.They went on to draw 0-all against Zambia, before they dismissed that side 4-2 on penalties after a goalless draw in Windhoek last month.The only hurdle will be Malawi, who have an impressive record of beating Mozambique (4-0 and 1-0), South Africa (1-0 and 2-1) in their encounters.This means that South Africa have been dumped out of the competition.The other second-round fixtures will see Burkina Faso taking on Rwanda, Angola meeting Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast going up against Niger and Ghana tackling Gambia.Also, Guinea meet Benin, while Eritrea have a date with Cameroon.All matches will be played on a home and away basis on the weekends of November 8 and November 21.