Women’s cricket receives a boost 

The Capricorn Group yesterday announced a two-year extension of their sponsorship of women’s cricket to the value of N$300 000 per year. 

Capricorn’s sponsorship of women’s cricket started in 2021 and since then it has grown to include the u19 Capricorn Eagles team, and in addition to cash sponsorships, the Capricorn Group also supports the players with gear and equipment and other in-kind support. 

At the occasion, the Capricorn Group’s brand and corporate affairs executive Marlize Horn said they are proud of their role in the growth of women’s cricket in Namibia.

“The remarkable strides achieved by the Capricorn Eagles, under the guidance of Cricket Namibia, fill us with immense pride. The growth and development we have witnessed are evidence of strong leadership and the strategic application of resources. We remain committed to our community, as we firmly believe that the investments we make today will yield positive outcomes for Namibian girls and women in the future,” she said. 

The CEO of Cricket Namibia Johan Muller said their vision for women’s cricket in Namibia is to professionalise the women’s game to support the players and to grow junior structures and participation through organised girls cricket festivals and girls cricket school leagues.

“This partnership is another positive step as part of the Capricorn Eagles’ commitment to the promotion of women’s sport and women’s cricket in our country,” he added. 

The captain of the Capricorn Eagles, Sune Wittmann, thanked the Capricorn Group for putting their name and reputation on the line for women’s cricket in Namibia. 

Quoting KPMG’s former US chairman Lynne Doughtie, she said:

“Sponsorship is about putting your name and reputation on the line for someone else. It could be as simple as recommending someone for a new role, yet its one of the most powerful cultural tools any organisation has.”

Wittmann said that Capricorn’s support had effected positive change. 

“Over the last three years with Capricorn on board we managed to move up the rankings from 26th to 17th in the world, making us a living example of the Capricorn Group’s motto ‘Let’s make positive change’ as they have definitely made a positive change and impact on women’s cricket in Namibia,” she said.

“However, the dream doesnt stop there – with their continued support and backing for another two years we, the Capricorn Eagles, promise to keep climbing and work our way up the rankings,” she added.

The coach of the Capricorn Eagles, Francois van der Merwe said the sponsorship will be of great value for the continued development of women’s cricket. 

“We are very fortunate this morning – the Capricorn Group has announced another sponsorship deal for another two years, so that will be an immense benefit to our program. About two months ago they announced that they will be the naming rights sponsor for our u19 girls as well, and that’s the first tournament that’s going to come up – the u19 World Cup qualifiers in Rwanda. The team will be leaving on the 19th of August and the competition continuestill the 3rd of September, so that’s a big component in our pipeline,” he said. 

“We’ve got a very strong u19 team and the preparation is going well at the moment – it’s basically at the coast because the majority of these girls are from the coast. We’ve got another training camp this coming weekend, and then we want to go to Rwanda and qualify for the World Cup, which will be in Malaysia in January,” he added.

Van der Merwe said more tours are in the pipeline for the senior women’s team, which will help them to improve their world ranking. 

“When we return from the u19 World Cup qualifier, our senior national team will compete in a tri-series against the UAE and Zimbabwe at home here in Windhoek, and then there’s another tour coming up at the end of the year to Malaysia and Hong Kong, when we will compete against those Asian countries. It’s important to go into these big tournaments well prepared, and to try and keep on improving our world ranking,” he said.