Can we please appoint a coach?

Jesse Jackson KauraisaFor the past few weeks, we did not have a national broadcaster, we have not have a national airline, we do not have a national stadium and we are yet to have a fixed national team coach for almost two years.The statement I mentioned above might sound dramatic but this is the Land of the Brave where things are somehow always headed south.Namibia's national football team coaching scenario is a very strange one at the moment and I can just hope to encourage those in charge at Football House to find a permanent coach as soon as they can.Strange decisions have been made at Football House with coach Bobby Samaria being at the receiving end of chaotic decisions.The gaffer served as interim coach since 2019 but was eventually told he had to reapply after his interim contract ended on 31 March.Just a month after the NFA announced that they would not extend Samaria's stay, the NFA had plans to recall the coach and giving him a two-month extension given that the World Cup qualifiers were looming.The world cup qualifiers were shifted and this left the NFA with yet another decision to make as far as hiring a coach or extending Bobby Samaria's stay is concerned.My understanding is that the football association made another U-turn as far as giving Bobby another extension.My advice to the Namibia Football Association is to appoint a permanent coach as soon as they can in order for the players to get ample time to get to know the coach.I seriously do not care whether the association brings in a foreign coach or a local coach, what I want is for them to choose a person with vast interest in the youth.I want us to get a coach with immense technical experience and who has a passion for the game.I would also say that if there is any Namibian out there who has the potential, then give him the job.We had Ricardo Mannetti and the job he did as a coach for the national team proved that we sometimes do not need to go beyond our borders to seek a substantive coach.We have talent here and I would be glad if we could rope in one of our own for the top NFA coaching job.My problem with foreign coaches is that they sometimes do not come here with the best of intentions but are here to make a quick dollar and leave.Yes, we have had very successful foreign coaches who did a good job for the national team and I will not dispute that.There have however also been a few names like Tom Saintfiet and Rodger Palmgren and the late Ted Dumitru who never really got the national team to flourish even though they were deemed international coaches.One has to make the exception of the late Ben Bamfuchile of Zambia, who helped the team qualify to the 2008 Afcon, and German-born Peter Ueberjahn, who was responsible for producing most players of the class of 98 team that also competed in the 1998 Afcon Cup in Burkina Faso.So, the task of those in charge of Football House is to make sure that we get a person with vested interest in the jersey as well as the growth of the players.We have so many countries around Africa that have won top regional competitions with local coaches.That is why I feel that it is important to have a local coach who understands the culture of the team and who has been following our football for years. jesse@namibiansun.com

Can we please appoint a coach?

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Republikein 2025-12-19

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Can we please appoint a coach?

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Republikein 2025-12-19

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