BOUAKE: Deputy Minister of Sports, Youth and National Service, Emma Kantema-Gaomas, has commended the senior national men’s football team, the Brave Warriors, for their heroic achievements at the Africa Cup of Nations, stating that the players should be proud of themselves.
Speaking to the players in Bouake on Sunday after their elimination from the 2023 TotalEnergies AFCON finals in Ivory Coast, Kantema-Gaomas emphasised that football is a priority sport for the government.
‘It’s very difficult to qualify for this level of competition and your qualification here carried the hopes and aspirations of the Namibian people,’ she said.
She added that the continental competition gives players exposure to scouts who are looking for talent and as a government, they ensured that all the necessary resources were available so that Namibians could also showcase their talents on such a platform.
‘You have made us proud as a nation by winning our first game and getting out of the group stages, it’s a historic moment. T
hese achievements can’t be taken away from you and it’s an experience that is going to last a lifetime,’ said Kantema-Gaomas.
The deputy minister stated as the saying goes, ‘It’s either you win, or you learn’, and Namibia learned a lot from the competition.
‘We as the government will now look at ways of designing tailored programmes as we need to work on development and talent nurturing, so we tailor programmes on how to improve our athletes,’ she said.
Kantema-Gaomas also said sport plays a role in uniting people and creating social cohesion, therefore as a sports ministry they want to exploit this to create unity.
‘The sacrifices you made as players and technical team demonstrate your patriotism and ambassadorship. Now, we must continue to build this team and work towards the future. The 2025 and 2027 AFCON tournaments are just around the corner. I urge all players to conduct themselves as sports heroes when they return home and avoid unnecessary publicity,’ Kantema-Gaomas said.
Source: The Namibia Pr
ess Agency