SKW latest from the Namibian Press

Erich Rutemöller führt in Windhoek einen FIFA-Trainerkurs durch - 2.06.2010

In der vergangenen Woche hat die FIFA in Windhoek einen „Win in Africa with Africa“ (WIAWA)-Trainerkurs durchgeführt. Als Chef-Ausbilder hatte der Weltverband den deutschen Fußballtrainer Erich Rutemöller entsandt. Dieser ist seit 1994 in Diensten des Deutschen Fußball-Bundes (DFB) tätig und hatte zuvor auf Vereinsebene unter anderem Hansa Rostock und den 1. FC Köln trainiert.

Die mehr als 30 Teilnehmer des Kurses rekrutierten sich überwiegend aus den zwölf Premierliga-Vereinen, die je zwei bis drei Vertreter stellten. Komplettiert wurde das Teilnehmerfeld mit Trainern der Jugendnationalmannschaften. Die sechs Kurs-Tage bestanden aus einer dreistündigen Theorieeinheit in einem Seminarraum des Safari-Hotels am Morgen sowie zwei Praxiseinheiten im Sam-Nujoma- oder SKW-Stadion im weiteren Verlauf des Tages.

Die einzelnen Trainingsmodule waren miteinander verknüpft, sodass die von Rutemöller vermittelte Theorie am Nachmittag direkt in die Praxis umgesetzt werden konnte. Hierbei standen Jugendnationalmannschaften sowie zweimal die Damennationalmannschaft zur Verfügung. Verantwortlich für die Leitung der Praxiseinheiten waren jeweils die Kurs-Teilnehmer. Die erfolgreiche Durchführung dieser Einheiten sowie eine aktive Teilnahme am Kurs sicherten am Ende allen teilnehmenden Trainern die Ausstellung eines Zertifikates. - AZ-online von Robby Echelmeyer

Starkes Team: Erich Rutemöller, Torwarttrainer Lutz Pfannenstiel, SKW-Trainer und Kursteilnehmer Rolf Beiter sowie der technische Direktor der NFA, Klaus Stärk (v.l.n.r.), trugen zum Erfolg des WIAWA-Kurses bei.

Korukuve is SKW Player of the Year Namibia Sport - online

Midfielder Edwin Korukuve won SKW’s Player of the Season award at a function held at the club in Olympia, Windhoek on Monday evening.

Korukuve had a good season in which he scored four goals for SKW and provided a lot of crosses that resulted in goal scoring opportunities for the strikers.

Zimbabwean striker, Milton Chapo got the Golden Boot award after netting a total of 11 goals for his team. He was the second highest goal scorer in the Namibia Premier League, along with Tangeni Shipahu of Tigers and Alfred Shimuma of United Stars.

He also scored one goal in the Leo NFA Cup competition.

The Most Improved Player award went to Gustarv Isaak who managed to score three goals for his club this past season.

Defenders Ralph Ellinger and Warren Neidel shared the Most Enthusiastic Player award while Gunter von Hundelshausen won the Sportiest Player award for the second time in a row.

The Most Enthusiastic Club Official award went to manager Carla Starke.

SKW finished seventh at the end of the MTC Premier League 2009/10 season, which was won by African Stars. In the Leo NFA Cup, SKW was beaten 1-0 in the quarterfinals by African Stars, who were the eventual winners.

Gladiators' return leg called off - Submitted by Helge Schutz Thu, 30 June 2010

The Brave Gladiators’ planned trip to Equatorial Guinea has been called off due to the unavailability of connecting flights to the West African country.

The Gladiators who were supposed to play Guinea on Sunday, were informed that their connecting flight from the Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg was called off and thus will not be able to make it on time to play the second leg of their African Women’s Championship 2010 qualifier match. Equatorial Guinea won the first leg 5-1 in Windhoek on 23 May.

According to a press release issued by the NFA, the match could have been postponed to Monday but due to circumstances beyond the team’s control it will not be changed.

The only other alternative for the Gladiators was to fly with Kenya Airways on Friday which meant that the team would arrive at 11h00 in Guinea on Sunday, leaving just four hours before the scheduled kickoff time of 15h00.

“Taking into consideration the usual delays, it is obvious that even if the team takes the option of Kenya Airways, the match will not take place and it will be a waste of resources,” the statement read.

NFA Women’s Desk Chief Jackey Gertze expressed her disappointment:

“It is indeed very disappointing considering all the resources spent to prepare for this return leg and also the significance of exposure and what is at stake, a place in South Africa 2010 (Africa Women Championship in October). But nevertheless we have to take things as they come and after what we have tried, it is not impossible for us to honor that match and unfortunately we now have to forfeit that encounter,” she said.

“The CAF rules allow us to request for a postponement but CAF has not replied even though we have told them about this since Tuesday after learning of the situation,” she added.

SKW-Saisonabschluss: Korukuve bester Spieler – Trainer Starke geht AZ-online

Ein siebter Tabellenplatz mit 32:35 Toren und 29 Punkten aus 22 Spielen – das sind die Zahlen, die das Abschneiden des SKW in der abgelaufenen Saison dokumentieren. In der vergangenen Woche beendete der Sportklub eine durchschnittliche Spielzeit mit seiner traditionellen Saisonabschlussfeier.

Im Rahmen dieser Veranstaltung auf dem Vereinsgelände des Cymot Sportklub Windhoek in Olympia wurden die herausragenden Akteure des zurückliegenden Jahres mit Preisen belohnt. Zu den geladenen Gästen des Premierliga-Vereins gehörte auch Axel Theissen, der Geschäftsführer des SKW-Hauptsponsors Cymot. In den kommenden Wochen wird es Gespräche geben, an deren Ende ein neuer Dreijahresvertrag zwischen dem Großunternehmen und dem Sportklub unterzeichnet werden soll.

Doch im Mittelpunkt der Saisonabschlussfeier stand die Preisverleihung: Den prestigeträchtigen Preis als bester SKW-Spieler der Saison erhielt der talentierte Mittelfeldspieler Edwin Korukuve. Neben seinen vier Saisontreffern überzeugte Korukuve insbesondere durch seine Flankenläufe, aus denen immer wieder Torgelegenheiten für seine Mitspieler entstanden. Als vereinsinterner Torschützenkönig wurde Milton Zivanayi Chapo mit einem Pokal ausgezeichnet. Neben einem Treffer im Leo-Pokal-Wettbewerb konnte der Angreifer aus Simbabwe in der Liga zehn Saisontreffer auf seinem Konto verbuchen. Damit war Chapo neben Nationalstürmer Tangeni Shipahu von den Tigers sowie Alfred Shimuma vom Absteiger United Stars der zweiterfolgreichste Schütze der Premierligasaison 2009/10. Torschützenkönig wurde wie im Vorjahr Jerome Luis von Black Africa, der 15 Treffer erzielte. In der Rubrik des am meisten verbesserten SKW-Spielers durfte sich der dribbelstarke Gustarv Isaak über eine Auszeichnung freuen. Warren Neidel und Ralph Ellinger wurden zu den einsatzfreudigsten Akteuren gewählt, während Managerin Carla Starke zum engagiertesten Vorstandsmitglied ernannt wurde. Günter von Hundelshausen erhielt wie schon vor Jahresfrist den Preis als mannschaftsdienlichster Spieler – in seiner letzten Saison für den SKW.

Doch nicht nur der 29-jährige von Hundelshausen wird sich zurückziehen. Mit Richard Starke verliert der SKW zudem seinen Chef-Coach. Acht Jahre lang war Starke Trainer der ersten Mannschaft, führte das Team in die Premierliga und etablierte den SKW dort als feste Größe. Aus beruflichen Gründen zieht er nun einen Schlussstrich.

Zwar wird Starke dem Verein noch mindestens bis zur Jahreshauptversammlung in zwei Monaten als erster Vorsitzender der Fußballsparte erhalten bleiben, an der Seitenlinie hat aber in Zukunft ein anderer das Sagen: Lucky Kakuva übernimmt das Zepter. In den vergangenen drei Jahren gehörte Kakuva bereits zum Trainerstab um Starke und Rolf Beiter, nun wird der B-Lizenzinhaber – er nahm im vergangenen Jahr an einem Trainerseminar in der renommierten Sportschule Hennef (Nordrhein-Westfalen) und Ende Mai an einem FIFA-Kurs in Windhoek unter Leitung des früheren Bundesligatrainers Erich Rutemöller teil – den Chefposten übernehmen.

Beiter wird weiterhin dem Trainerstab angehören, während mit Dino Balotti ein neuer Co-Trainer an Bord kommt. Der 24-Jährige italienischer Herkunft gehörte früher dem SKW-Rivalen Ramblers an und führte in der abgelaufenen Saison die „Young Ones“ in der First Division (Central South) als Chef-Trainer zum Klassenerhalt. „Er wird mit seiner Energie und Dynamik frischen Wind in den Verein bringen“, sagt Starke über den jungen Trainer, der zudem Managementaufgaben im Verein übernehmen wird und damit Starkes Frau Carla entlasten soll. Starke selbst wird in den kommenden Monaten zunehmend die Verantwortung als Vorstandsmitglied an seinen Vize-Vorsitzenden Jochen Traut abgeben. „Ich bin momentan beruflich und privat zu stark eingebunden“, erklärt Starke die Entwicklungen.

Nach Rang vier in der Vorsaison bezeichnet der 46-Jährige die zurückliegende Spielzeit mit Rang sieben im Endklassement und dem Viertelfinalaus im Leo-NFA-Pokal gegen den späteren Double-Sieger African-Stars als „enttäuschend“. Auch für die Spieler, die an der von Ligasponsor MTC zur Verfügung gestellten Prämie, die der Dachverband der Premierliga-Vereine (NPL) an die Klubs verteilt, beteiligt werden. Die Prämie orientiert sich an der Platzierung im Endklassement, wobei für den SKW auf Rang sieben lediglich 30 000 N$ heraussprangen. „Diese Platzierung entsprach nicht unseren Erwartungen“, so der scheidende Trainer, der auf den Schlüsselpositionen im Tor und im Sturmzentrum die entscheidenden Defizite ausmachte. „In der kommenden Saison muss die Meisterschaft das Ziel sein“, ist Starke zuversichtlich, dass es dem neuen Trainergespann gelingen wird, eine „schlagkräftige Mannschaft“ zusammenzustellen. Um diese Marschroute umsetzen zu können, sollen mindestens vier neue Spieler das Team verstärken, während es gilt, die Leistungsträger um Korukuve und Chapo zu halten.

Von Robby Echelmeyer

Black Africa, meets Cymot SKW in opener.

African Stars to face Blue Waters in their first 2010/11 season match Namibia Sport Magazine 24 June 2010

African Stars’ campaign to defend the MTC Namibia Premier League (NPL) title will begin at home to Blue Waters on the opening weekend of the 2010/11 season. The draw for the 2010/11 season was conducted at the NPL offices on Thursday morning in front of some of the teams' representatives.

Last season in their first leg encounter African Stars beat Blue Waters after Rudi Louw scored the only goal of the match. When the teams met again in the return leg Blue Waters almost got away with a win after Wycliffe Kambonde scored for them early in the game, only for Heinrich Kazerua to get the draw for African Stars when he scored in extra time. NPL Chief Executive Officer, Matthew Haikali, said that they wanted to bring more transparency into the drawing of the fixtures. “Every year, the fixtures of the league are released just days before the league kick off and after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the league,” Haikali said. “As with the conclusion of the league, that was concluded at the same time as all the other leagues in the world, so today also represents an opportunity for the NPL to join the transparency and accountability associated with the drawing of the fixtures for the new season,” he added.

The teams will be provided with the final fixtures of the league which will include dates, times and venues after the various clubs have had a chance to look at the fixtures at the AGM which will be held before the start of the season. Haikali announced that in the coming season clubs would be responsible for booking of venues for their home matches. “It will be the responsibility of the home teams to ensure that they secure facilities for their home games. This includes the security and changing rooms for the visiting teams and that there is standard medical personnel at the venues. This will no longer be the responsibility of the NPL,” he said. “The NPL will provide the teams with adequate funding for them to be able to do these things, “ Haikali added.

Haikali also said that the teams should meet the requirements of the new FIFA registration system. “The new FIFA registration system requires that the teams have an operational office with a computer with internet access. The NPL has inspected all the Windhoek based teams and will be visiting the rest of the teams before the start of the season to see that everyone complies with this new regulation.” The rest of the fixtures for the first week of the 2010/11 season will see Oshakati City playing host to the team that gets promoted to the NPL from the Northern Stream which is currently being led by Chief Santos after they won eight of their 12 matches so far.

Newly promoted Blue Boys from Swakopmund will host Tigers who finished fourth last season. Black Africa, who finished third last season will have a home match against Cymot SKW who ended the season in seventh position. Eleven Arrows, who were fifth, will travel to Windhoek to play against Ramblers who narrowly missed relegation when they finished the season in tenth position.

Orlando Pirates who missed out on winning the league title in the last game of the season will host the Leo NFA Cup finalists Civics.

Saintfiet a worried man

Brave Warriors coach Tom Saintfiet is sitting with a dilemma. With less than two months to go till Namibia’s first match in their 2012 AFCON qualifying campaign, most of his first choice players are without a club while he is still searching for an opponent for an international friendly on August 11.

Saintfiet told Namibia Sport on Thursday that at least eight foreign based players are without contracts for the coming season, while only four players are currently in pre-season training with their clubs.

Namibian midfielder-cum-defender Oliver Risser is clubless since his Norwegian club Lyn Oslo is reportedly facing bankruptcy, while Razundara Tjikuzu is looking for a new club after his Turkish club Trabzonspor failed to renew his contract.

Quinton Jacobs has been clubless since leaving African Stars in January to play on loan for a Palestinian club. A number of European clubs are reportedly interested in his services, but they cannot meet the 80 000 Euro transfer fee that Stars have requested for his services.

Most of Namibia’s South African-based players have failed to get new contracts. They include defender Hartman Toromba of Vasco de Gama, Richard Gariseb of Bidwest Wits, Sydney Plaatjies, who was offloaded by Mamelodi Sundowns more than a year ago, Paulus Shipanga of Bay United and Steven Goagab of Carara Kicks.

According to reports, Carara Kicks is being bought out by a new club, with the result that their other Namibian defender Michael Pienaar could soon also be without a club.

Of all of Namibia’s foreign-based professionals, only four players are currently on contract for the new season. They are midfielder Collin Benjamin of Hamburg SV in the German Bundesliga, Wilko Risser, who joined German fourth division club SV Elversberg, Henrico Botes, who recently signed a new three-year contract with South African Premiership side Platinum Stars, and Rudolf Bester, who is still on contract with another SA Premiership side, Maritzburg United.

To compound matters, the local Namibian Premiership is only scheduled to start in September, with the result that Namibia’s home based players have not been in action for close to two months.

“I am very worried as the national coach of the Brave Warriors. My aim is to qualify for the 2012 AFCON finals, but most of our players are clubless and not fit. We have built up a squad of 30 players and had two years to prepare. But now, when the moment of truth has arrived, most of them are inactive,” he said.

Saintfiet, meanwhile said he was still looking for an opponent to play on the FIFA international friendly date of August 11. He had requested the NFA to try to arrange a west African opponent to help prepare for Namibia’s opening AFCON qualifier against Gambia on September 4, but the NFA in stead tried to arrange a friendly against Zambia. The Zambian Football Association this week requested a friendly match between the Brave Warriors and Zambia’s national Under 23 team, but Saintfiet turned that down.

“I wanted to play a west African nation so that I could get good preparation for Gambia, but Zambia would also have been a good opponent because they are a strong side. But I refused to play their Under 23 team - that is an insult to us and how can we prepare for the top African competition against an Under 23 team,” he said.

“I have now requested the NFA to try and arrange a friendly against South Africa, Zimbabwe or Mozambique, who do not yet have opponents for August 11,” he said.

Club House Rumours - Written by Administrator Informanté - Thursday, 22 July 2010

Informanté’s new column, Club House Rumours will bring you news behind the scenes in sports every week from today. This week, with the beautiful game in recess, CHR looks into the silent scramble for new players.

African Stars refuse to shine

Word from Herero Mall is that most players refused to sign new contracts claiming that the team is negotiating in bad faith. Players claim that they were paid bonuses which do not justify netting both the Premier League and NFA Cup.

With all these problems and departure of top players, coach Bobby Samaria must be working on a strategy if he wants to retain the silverware won last season. It’s almost a certainty that Ninja Karongee is packing before heading for the coast while midfield dynamo, Rudi Louw, will likely be donning the Black Africa jersey next season.

More players from Sta-lile might follow them on their way out.

No rambling at Ramblers

All is doom and gloom at the blue and white outfit from Tunschell Street. Rammies have spent the better part of last season in the relegation zone, and some players are not happy with the fact that “Messiah Ali Akan” was shown the door after ensuring that the Pionierspark based club retained its premiership status.

The appointment of inexperienced Christy Guruseb poses more questions than answers. Is the team ready to compete or are they merely participating? According to insiders some players have vowed not to return to training come next season.

Blank Black Africa cheque does the trick

Business mogul, Ranga Haikali’s big cheque book has certainly brought some changes to Gemengde kasi. Insiders say Haikali has given Coach Ricardo Mannetti and Manager Andries Skrywer, a blank cheque to sign up new players in an effort to lay hands on the lucrative MTC Premier League and the Leo NFA Cup trophies.

BA has not had silverware since 2004/2005 when they won five in a row. There are also unconfirmed rumours that long term assistant Coach Dirkie Beukes has been shown the door to make way for a former player who is also tipped to be the development coach. This coach has been coming and going at regular intervals.

Orlando Pirates sinking

The once floating ship of the Buccaneer’s is on the verge of sinking. Since showing the number one supporter, Makalan the door early last season Hendrik Dawids couldn’t take the heat and also left the kitchen in December. Its strong brand and big support base carried Pirates through last season but this was not be this season. Five top players have tendered their resignation and some are busy typing theirs. The most surprising move is that of Klaas Blom, believed by many supporters and soccer pundits as one player who would die for Pirates. Blom even played for the team without a salary. News in Dolam and Damara kasi is that Blom is finally moving to arch rivals Black Africa. Now you can imagine Zox or Mr Bones from GMP joining Mshasho.

Incivilities at Civics

Who will forget those days when Civics signed players left, right and centre and even personalised their jerseys. Those days when you would see no less than 30 people on the bench all clad in maroon and white. When former medic Siroba was equipped with a two-way radio to communicate with the technical staff.

But by the look of things, fortunes have changed in Khomasdal because teams from Katutura are taking their players back. Asprilla Werrmann, Lovers Kamuhanga and Pineas Jacob are rumoured to have parted ways with the club. Talk from Wells Bar, is that Cheff has instructed some senior players to scout for young players to cut down the huge salary bill. Relatively young but experienced mentor Woody Jacobs is likely to meet Cheff next week to decide on his future at the club.

Brave Warriors squad for international friendly - Submitted by Namibia Sport Magazine, 22- 07 - 2010.

The Namibia Football Association on Thursday announced a 19-man Brave Warriors training squad in preparation for an international match on the FIFA International Friendly date of August 11. NFA spokesman Dan Kamati told Namibia Sport that the NFA had not finalised an opponent yet, but that they were in negotiations and that an opponent should be announced within the next few days.

“We are still in discussions and cannot reveal anything yet, but we are looking for a worthwhile opponent, which will be revealed soon,” he said.

Brave Warriors coach Tom Saintfiet had earlier revealed that Zambia had offered to send their Under 23 team to play the Brave Warriors, but he had turned down the offer.

He told Namibia Sport on July 15 that he had requested the NFA to try and arrange a friendly against South Africa, Zimbabwe or Mozambique, who do not yet have opponents for August 11.

According to recent reports, the NFA was also in negotiations with Tanzania and Algeria, which was one of the six African nations at the recently concluded FIFA World Cup.

An opponent will have to be announced by July 28, which will be the deadline for the NFA to request the services of Namibia’s foreign based players from their professional clubs.

The squad announced on Thursday includes most of Namibia’s regular home based players as well as a few foreign based professionals who are looking for new clubs after their contracts were not renewed.

The latter group includes defender Hartman Toromba, who previously played for Vasco de Gama, winger Paulus Shipanga formerly with Bay United, and defender Michael Pienaar who is still with Carrara Kicks, although they could reportedly be bought out by another club.

Defenders Richard Gariseb and Steven Goagab, who joined Orlando Pirates from Wits and Carara Kicks respectively last season, are also in the squad, as is midfielder Quinton Jacobs, who is still on African Stars’ books after being loaned out to a Palestinian club last season.

The squad includes one newcomer in Civics’ striker Alfred Ndyenge, while last season’s top goalscorer in the MTC Premiership, Jerome Louis of Black Africa and Tigers striker Tangeni Shipahu are notable absentees.

The Brave Warriors training squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers:

Athiel Mbaha (Orlando Pirates), Max Mbaeva (African Stars).

Defenders:

Hartman Toromba (unattached), Steven Goagab, Ivan Namaseb, Richard Gariseb (all Orlando Pirates), Michael Pienaar (Carara Kicks), Ralph Ellinger (SKW), Jamu Ngatjizeko (African Stars), Nelson Geingob (Civics), Gotlieb Nakuta (Blue Waters).

Midfielders:

Quinton Jacobs (African Stars), Ninja Karongee (African Stars), Paulus Shipanga (unattached), Heini Isaacks (Civics), Eslin Kamuhanga (Civics), Rudi Louw (African Stars).

Forwards:

Roger Katjiteo (Black Africa), Alfred Ndyenge (Civics).

Club House Rumours Written by Administrator Informante - online Thursday, 29 July 2010

Tangeni’s depature good for him, not so good for Tigers

Congratulations to Tangeni Shipahu for clinching a deal with PSL outfit Amazulu, but this is certainly not too good for Ingweiyama.When Tangeni didn’t not score at Tigers and one is wondering what goes through coach Brian Isaacks’ mind. Tangeni has been involved with almost every goal scored by Tigers last season while scoring over 80% himself. Reports are that the recent relegation of Hotspurs is a blessing in disguise as some Hotspurs players might move from Soweto to Wambo location.

Arrows shooting in the right direction.

Word from Kuisebmund is that the spirit in the Eleven Arrows camp is high ahead of their game against South African glamour club Kaizer Chiefs. Eleven Arrows has been training for at least three weeks in order to prepare for this CRUCIAL friendly. This is definitely a good opportunity for Eleven Arrows players to prove their worth against a much fancied Chiefs outfit if they want to secure contracts on the other side of the Orange River. Good luck Arrows, Namibia will rally behind you and to JJD thumbs up for taking the bold step in bringing Amakhosi to Namibia.

Swakopmund is all blue because of the boys

The recent promotion of coastal outfit, Blue Boys, has brought some life to the Swakopmund community. According to our sources in Mondesa prominent business personalities in the coastal town have already indicated their willingness to assist the team financially in the forthcoming football season. In their quest to compete against the best in Namibia, the team has enquired the availability of coach Ali Akan. At the time of going to press, we could not establish whether the team has agreed terms with Akan or not. Watch this space for more!

Brave Warriors match against Israel cancelled - Submitted by newsdesk of Namibia Sport Magazine on Fri, 30/07/2010

The Brave Warriors match against Israel that had been scheduled for August 11 has been called off due to a problem with the processing of visas in Israel according to Namibia Football Association (NFA) Secretary General Barry Rukoro.

It had earlier been reported in a weekly newspaper that the Brave Warriors would play Israel as part of their preparations for the AFCON qualifier match against Gambia on September 4.

“It was too late for us to arrange visas for the team because there it would normally take 35 days to arrange for visas and we got the offer to play them this week,” Rukoro said.

In an email to the NFA, the agent who was organising the match, Jonathan Compan told Rukoro that they would not have enough time to make arrangements for the security at the stadium and the ticket sales without a guarantee that the Namibian team would get their visas in time.

“Israel were eager to have the match as they need to prepare for the Euro qualifiers, but neither them nor us want to organise an event if the best conditions are not gathered, and we cannot make you wait until next week to know if the visa obtention [sic] is good or not, we cannot risk to have an empty stadium or a risk with security,” Compan said in his email.

“Therefore I ask you to cancel your trip to Israel as this is event is officially cancelled due to visa obtention [sic] delays,” Campan continued.

On the FIFA website, it states that Israel will play Gambia instead on August 11, but Compan says this is not true.

“The Israeli FA (Football Association) has ever been meant to play Gambia, according to the Secretary General of Israel, these are the remains of a proposition that was never accepted,” Compan said.

The coach of the Brave Warriors, Tom Saintfiet was very disappointed at the news.

“I’m very disappointed that we once again don’t have a friendly, we have only had one friendly this year against South Africa. It would have been very helpful but we can’t change that. We have to now focus on Gambia,” Saintfiet said.

As a result of this setback Namibia will not have a preparation match before they start with their AFCON 2012 qualifiers.

“It is too late to arrange another game for the Brave Warriors,” Rukoro said.

“We approached Tanzania and Algeria for a friendly but we did not get a response from them. Zambia wanted to send their Under 23 side because they probably didn’t want to pay for their professionals’ travel expenses,” he continued.

“It also looked like Mozambique would come, but they pulled out at the last minute. They wanted to charter a plane to fly to Namibia and wanted us to pay for it when we had an earlier agreement that stated that we would share the travel expenses,” he added.

Mozambique will now play against Swaziland on the same date and Algeria will play at home against Gabon. Tanzania on the other hand will not play a friendly before they play their first qualifier against Algeria in Algiers on September 3.

When asked about the effect not playing competitively before the qualifiers would have on the Brave Warriors’ already unfit team, Rukoro said, “the fitness is the responsibility of the clubs, the whole world is in preseason training.”

“How do you get guys fit in four days, it's not the responsibility of the NFA,” Rukoro concluded.