A rare doctor in sport

A Namibian with a doctorate in sport management has embarked on a journey to help professionalise sport in Namibia.
Herma Prinsloo
JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA

WINDHOEK

Ndeulipula Hamutumwa is adamant that Namibia would only reach its goal of professionalising sport if those in leadership structures gain the necessary education and skills.

Hamutumwa holds a bachelor degree in accounting, a master’s degree in business leadership, an executive master’s in sport organisational management and a doctorate of commerce in sport management.

His research identified a lack of funding and inter-governmental collaboration stakeholder alignment as key challenges.

“The sport stakeholder framework can serve as a guiding tool for improving inter-agency collaboration and alignment of stakeholders to ensure sport development benefit for resource sharing, policy and structural alignment for addressing national development priorities of Namibia,” Hamutumwa said.

For many years, he served in several sport structures, including the Namibia Sports Commission.

He chose to drop what he was doing as a sport commissioner to pursue other studies, which he felt could benefit Namibia in the future.

“I was tired of just being a commissioner and sitting in board meetings.

“It is for this reason I chose to invest in education in order for me to be able to be equipped with better knowledge,” Hamutumwa said.

During his studies, he realised that Namibia would not be able to build a functional sport industry without skills and educated human resources.

He also felt that the only way the government and federations could achieve the goal of professionalising sport was by working together.

“I have realised that the government and federations operate in isolation and that does not do any justice to the goal of professionalising sport.

“That is why I am urging for the government and federations to work closely together,” Hamutumwa added.

In the past, Hamutumwa served as president of the Namibia Basketball Federation and as board member of the Namibia National Olympic Committee.

He matriculated at St Paul’s College in 1998, after which he attained an accounting degree from the University of Namibia in 2003 and a master’s in business leadership from the University of South Africa in 2008.

Hamutumwa then attained an executive master’s degree in organisational sport management from the University of Poitier in 2011.

“The most significant contribution of my study is that it acts as a baseline study for policymakers and national sport administrators in planning for the development of sport at national level.

“My wish is to help the sport industry by assisting to create policy development.

“As sport administrators we need to go back to school to do courses which are for the benefit of this nation and NDP 5.

“I would like to congratulate the Namibia University of Science and Technology for introducing a bachelor’s degree in sport management.

“It will be one of the few ways that can help educate those that are into sport.”

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-05

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