Namibia cancels sports events
Sporting events in Namibia are being cancelled one after another due to the global spread of the coronavirus.
The cancellation of local sports events follows the announcement by President Hage Geingob that that all large gatherings in Namibia are suspended for 30 days.
With that announcement on Saturday, the Brave Warriors of Namibia's friendly match against the coastal regional select teams was called off.
The squad is gearing for Cameroon's African Nations Championship, which now also hangs in the balance with no certainty of whether it will be played behind closed doors or postponed.
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers scheduled for 25 and 31 March in Bamako and Windhoek were postponed by Caf.
Another local competition that may be called off is the Independence Boxing Bonanza in which WBO Global junior lightweight champion Jeremiah 'Low-key' Nakathila was supposed to headline against Tanzania's Emmanuel 'Sniper' Amos.
Nakathila's promoter Nestor Tobias said they would announce the way forward today after consulting various stakeholders.
The Namibia Cricket Association also announced that the Castle Lite Series against the Netherlands had been called off.
“The reality in most of the European countries regarding the rapid blow-out of this virus has led to cancellation in most air and cross-border travel. The Netherlands cricket team and Cricket Namibia have been in regular contact during the recent week.
“We want to assure the public and our partners that both countries tried their best to make this tour a reality, but we have to respect what is currently happening in the rest of the world. Cricket Namibia is committed to bring top quality international cricket into the country and is looking forward to the remaining international fixtures already scheduled,” read the statement from Cricket Namibia.
The two countries were set to play two ODIs and four T20s at the Wanderers cricket grounds in Windhoek from 25 March to 1 April.
Other local sports events that will feel the wrath of the pandemic are the domestic rugby league, the reserve league and the first league which were scheduled for April.
The Momentum U/14 to U/19 Schools Rugby Leagues that were due to start on 16 May will most probably not take place.
Here are some of the major sports events around the world that have been postponed:
Olympic trials
US Olympic trials for wrestling, originally scheduled for 4 to 5 April at Penn State University, were postponed. US Rowing postponed its Olympic team trials and will not run a national team event for 30 days. US Olympic diving trials, scheduled for 3 to 5 April in Tucson, Arizona, were postponed.
Football
All elite soccer matches in England, including the Premier League, Football League and Women's Super League, were suspended until 4 April. The German Football League called off matches scheduled for 13 to 15 March in the Bundesliga and second-tier Bundesliga 2. They recommended both leagues be suspended until 2 April.
UEFA postponed all Champions League and Europa League matches due to take place this week. CONCACAF suspended all competitions scheduled to take place over the next 30 days, including the Champions League and men's Olympic qualifiers.
The Chilean Football association ordered all games due to be played between 19 March and 19 April to take place without fans. The top two tiers of French football - Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 - have been suspended until further notice.
All soccer matches in Spain's top two divisions were postponed for two weeks. England's friendly internationals against Italy and Denmark at Wembley on 27 March and 31 will not take place, while Denmark cancelled their 27 March friendly against the Faroe Islands.
The Norwegian Football Federation said it did not plan to hold Norway's Euro 2020 playoff match against Serbia that was scheduled for 26 March. Poland's soccer league has postponed all games at least until the end of March.
The resumption date is expected to be announced this week. US Major League Soccer has suspended its season. US Soccer's Open Cup Committee has suspended its 2020 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
All soccer in the Netherlands was suspended until the end of March. The national team cancelled their Euros warm-up matches against the United States (26 March) and Spain (29 March).
Spain's Copa del Rey final between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad (Seville; 18 April) was postponed. New seasons in the Chinese, Japanese and South Korean leagues were postponed. A four-team event in Doha featuring Croatia, Portugal, Belgium and Switzerland (26 to 30 March) was cancelled.
Athletics
The World Athletics Indoor Championships (Nanjing, 13 to 15 March were postponed. They will be held in the same city from 19 to 21 March 2021.
Basketball
Euroleague Basketball suspended all 2019-20 EuroLeague, EuroCup and Euroleague Next Generation Tournament games.
Cricket
The last two games of Australia's three-match one-day series against New Zealand in Sydney and Hobart were cancelled. Australia and New Zealand's limited overs tours were postponed in the wake of new travel restrictions announced by the New Zealand government.
Golf
The year's first major, the Masters, has been postponed from 9 to 12 April.
The Players Championship in Florida was cancelled after the first round. The next three PGA events have also been scrapped.
The Honda LPGA Thailand event and the HSBC Women's World Championship in Singapore were cancelled.
The Indian Open, the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur and the China Open have all been postponed.
Gymnastics
The All-Around World Cup (20 to 22 March) was cancelled.
Handball
The International Handball Federation has postponed all competitions in March, April and June.
Motorsport
Formula One cancelled the Australian Grand Prix and postponed the next three races in Bahrain, Vietnam and China.
They hope to start the season in Europe at the end of May, putting the Dutch and Spanish races currently scheduled for 3 May and 10 in Zandvoort and Barcelona in doubt.
LIMBA MUPETAMI
With that announcement on Saturday, the Brave Warriors of Namibia's friendly match against the coastal regional select teams was called off.
The squad is gearing for Cameroon's African Nations Championship, which now also hangs in the balance with no certainty of whether it will be played behind closed doors or postponed.
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers scheduled for 25 and 31 March in Bamako and Windhoek were postponed by Caf.
Another local competition that may be called off is the Independence Boxing Bonanza in which WBO Global junior lightweight champion Jeremiah 'Low-key' Nakathila was supposed to headline against Tanzania's Emmanuel 'Sniper' Amos.
Nakathila's promoter Nestor Tobias said they would announce the way forward today after consulting various stakeholders.
The Namibia Cricket Association also announced that the Castle Lite Series against the Netherlands had been called off.
“The reality in most of the European countries regarding the rapid blow-out of this virus has led to cancellation in most air and cross-border travel. The Netherlands cricket team and Cricket Namibia have been in regular contact during the recent week.
“We want to assure the public and our partners that both countries tried their best to make this tour a reality, but we have to respect what is currently happening in the rest of the world. Cricket Namibia is committed to bring top quality international cricket into the country and is looking forward to the remaining international fixtures already scheduled,” read the statement from Cricket Namibia.
The two countries were set to play two ODIs and four T20s at the Wanderers cricket grounds in Windhoek from 25 March to 1 April.
Other local sports events that will feel the wrath of the pandemic are the domestic rugby league, the reserve league and the first league which were scheduled for April.
The Momentum U/14 to U/19 Schools Rugby Leagues that were due to start on 16 May will most probably not take place.
Here are some of the major sports events around the world that have been postponed:
Olympic trials
US Olympic trials for wrestling, originally scheduled for 4 to 5 April at Penn State University, were postponed. US Rowing postponed its Olympic team trials and will not run a national team event for 30 days. US Olympic diving trials, scheduled for 3 to 5 April in Tucson, Arizona, were postponed.
Football
All elite soccer matches in England, including the Premier League, Football League and Women's Super League, were suspended until 4 April. The German Football League called off matches scheduled for 13 to 15 March in the Bundesliga and second-tier Bundesliga 2. They recommended both leagues be suspended until 2 April.
UEFA postponed all Champions League and Europa League matches due to take place this week. CONCACAF suspended all competitions scheduled to take place over the next 30 days, including the Champions League and men's Olympic qualifiers.
The Chilean Football association ordered all games due to be played between 19 March and 19 April to take place without fans. The top two tiers of French football - Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 - have been suspended until further notice.
All soccer matches in Spain's top two divisions were postponed for two weeks. England's friendly internationals against Italy and Denmark at Wembley on 27 March and 31 will not take place, while Denmark cancelled their 27 March friendly against the Faroe Islands.
The Norwegian Football Federation said it did not plan to hold Norway's Euro 2020 playoff match against Serbia that was scheduled for 26 March. Poland's soccer league has postponed all games at least until the end of March.
The resumption date is expected to be announced this week. US Major League Soccer has suspended its season. US Soccer's Open Cup Committee has suspended its 2020 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
All soccer in the Netherlands was suspended until the end of March. The national team cancelled their Euros warm-up matches against the United States (26 March) and Spain (29 March).
Spain's Copa del Rey final between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad (Seville; 18 April) was postponed. New seasons in the Chinese, Japanese and South Korean leagues were postponed. A four-team event in Doha featuring Croatia, Portugal, Belgium and Switzerland (26 to 30 March) was cancelled.
Athletics
The World Athletics Indoor Championships (Nanjing, 13 to 15 March were postponed. They will be held in the same city from 19 to 21 March 2021.
Basketball
Euroleague Basketball suspended all 2019-20 EuroLeague, EuroCup and Euroleague Next Generation Tournament games.
Cricket
The last two games of Australia's three-match one-day series against New Zealand in Sydney and Hobart were cancelled. Australia and New Zealand's limited overs tours were postponed in the wake of new travel restrictions announced by the New Zealand government.
Golf
The year's first major, the Masters, has been postponed from 9 to 12 April.
The Players Championship in Florida was cancelled after the first round. The next three PGA events have also been scrapped.
The Honda LPGA Thailand event and the HSBC Women's World Championship in Singapore were cancelled.
The Indian Open, the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur and the China Open have all been postponed.
Gymnastics
The All-Around World Cup (20 to 22 March) was cancelled.
Handball
The International Handball Federation has postponed all competitions in March, April and June.
Motorsport
Formula One cancelled the Australian Grand Prix and postponed the next three races in Bahrain, Vietnam and China.
They hope to start the season in Europe at the end of May, putting the Dutch and Spanish races currently scheduled for 3 May and 10 in Zandvoort and Barcelona in doubt.
LIMBA MUPETAMI
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