The 2022 Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup will soon be here; this year’s tournament will be staged from July 5–17, 2022 in Durban, South Africa. The Brave Warriors will be aiming to battle it out with the region’s top nations and clinch the coveted crown for just the second time in their history and build on their COSAFA Cup victory from 2015.
Namibia come into this year’s tournament ranked 117th, which is lower than only Madagascar, Zambia, South Africa, and the African champions, Senegal. The Brave Warriors’ head coach, Collin Benjamin, mentioned that consistency and dedication remain key as they head into the tournament.
On Thursday, June 30, 2022, Coach Benjamin trimmed his squad down from 27 players to 23 players. The coach has included eight (8) brilliant youngsters, the Young Warriors group of Steven Damaseb, Prins Tjiueza, Godwin Eiseb and Bethuel Muzeu, along with Ngero Katua and Lionell Routh, while Tjipenandjambi Karuuombe and Uetuuru Kambato will join the team in South Africa.
The full squad is made up of:
- Goalkeepers: Kamaijanda Ndisiro, Edward Maova, Mbemutjiua Mata.
- Defenders: Aprocius Petrus, Denzil Haoseb, Charles Hambira, Ivan Kamberipa, Tuli Ngenovali Nashixwa, Kennedy Amutenya.
- Midfielders: Marcel Papama, Wesley Katjiteo, Dynamo Fredericks, Immanuel Heita, Ngero Katua, Tjpenandjambi Karuuombe, Prinz Tjiueza, Steven Damaseb, Uetuuru Kambato, Wendel Rudath, Amseb Salomon, Absalom Limbondi.
- Forwards: Bethuel Muzeu, Lionell Routh, Godwin Eiseb.
‘’The commitment is really at a good level, the atmosphere is really good. There has not been any injuries thus far as everybody (players) wants to show their best and that is really great professionalism from them,’’ remarked coach Benjamin.
Coach Benjamin also mentioned how difficult it has been for him and his players during the football conditioning training because of the heavy demands. He added that they have had three productive sessions and have been experimenting with various strategies to identify what they will do both when they have the ball and when they lose it come COSAFA Cup.
“We hope to get a few warm-up matches to acquire cohesion into the team and see some of our players in a good competitive environment so we can evaluate the team’s level of readiness for our vital match against Madagascar on the 12th.”
The team left on Saturday, July 2nd for Pretoria, where they will spend a week and hold a demanding training camp to finish up preparations for their vital quarter-final match against Madagascar on the 12th.
Halala majita. Bring it home gents.