Relegated outfit Desert Foxes FC chairperson Paulo Shipanga says a quality technical team, financial support and experienced players are essential when guiding young players.
Desert Foxes FC bade farewell to FNB Women Super League after a poor run. The coastal outfit recorded one draw, zero wins and lost a massive 21 matches.
Responding to The Namibian Sport, Shipanga attributes the team’s poor run to a display of inexperience.
“We didn’t have depth in the squad, physical strength to match most teams and the players are not used to playing on bigger fields like Unam Field and so on.
“Our ultimate vision has been to use football as a tool to help girls avoid the dangers of substance abuse and teenage pregnancies and stay on the narrow path. One day we will lift up a trophy called the super league.”
On how women players are locally valued, Shipanga says: “We treat our players with respect at all times, they are well looked after and protected, we also go out to seek assistance on their behalf.
“My manager is a good academic so they have access to subject advice and choice of study fields. During the season, they had two sessions with Anzel just to check on their mental side. I would say we are doing the best we can.”
On coaching clinics Shipanga says: “As a club we run coaching clinics where few players take charge. We have one planned already, hopefully you can accompany us and do a cover article.”
He adds that parents wanting to bring their daughters to the club.
“The future is smiling on Desert Foxes.”
As for their playing style during the league’s campaign, Shipanga says it was difficult to face experienced clubs like Mighty Gunners FC, Khomas Nampol, African Stars Queens and FC Ongos.
“Many people don’t know but the club is barely three years old. We are at the genesis of our journey, we will make few announcements in the next week’s to follow and all will be clear as to where to from here.
“Rest assured Namibia and the FNB Super League, we value the love you showed us. We here for good,” Shipanga stresses.
He adds: “We chose development and paid an expensive price. Our club is not an ordinary soccer club, it is a shelter of ‘dreams’ where young girls are accorded an opportunity to showcase their talents, our success measurements extend beyond the green grass.
“We have recorded zero school dropouts, zero teenage pregnancy, zero cases of substance abuse. That’s Desert Foxes in a nutshell.”
Shipanga says playing in the competitive league put a spotlight on the players, resulting in their call up for the national under-17 squad.
“Highly commendable, our players could hold interviews with confidence and that’s player development on a social scale.”
On the team’s possible comeback, Shipanga says: “We will engage our club’s social psychologist, Anzel, to look at the mental side of things and see to it that there are no mental meltdowns for the girls.”
He says inexperience contributed to the poor run. “100%, it is not an excuse but honestly, we played with the first 11 who made their super league debuts on match day one.
“I wouldn’t say poor showing but when one studies past super league results, one can find solace in the fact that we didn’t concede beyond 10 goals a game. But definitely inexperienced people contributed and we took a risk knowing the cost associated with it.”
On the challenges as Desert Foxes owner, Shipanga says credit must be given to First National Bank Namibia for sponsoring the super league.
“However, as a chairman of the club I had run around to cover the deficit because the grant is not sufficient enough to cater for all the logistics. Transport and accommodation were expensive because most of our away games were in Windhoek.”
“It’s hard to manage a club from pocket without any direct corporate assistance but we are hopeful we will get one or two soon on board.”
On keeping players motivated, he says: “Obviously back to the regional league, which of course has its own challenges, such as lack of adequate funding etc. But as a team we are taking the lessons from the super league to the regional league.”
Shipanga adds that players are much more knowledgeable about the don’ts of the game and that the foundation has now been laid and that they will build on it.
