Stand behind the teams

JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA



With Namibia having done the most by qualifying to the Africa Cup of Nations and the Rugby World Cup, it is up to us Namibians to support the teams wholeheartedly.

It was not an easy journey for most of the players and coaching staff but they eventually made it at the end of the day.

Namibia has been going through economic crises for the past few years and sport has been hit by this.

But the country's brave sons and daughters did not waver through these difficult times.

So often the teams did not have money to play friendlies or enough test matches to prepare them for qualification tournaments.

That did not deter the fighting spirit of those brave Namibian rugby and football players who went on to qualify against all odds.

Yes, it is now done and Namibia's football team will play in Egypt in July, while the rugby team crosses the ocean to play in the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

It would be great if the locals and corporate Namibia showed their utmost support to these teams.

It is the responsibility of every Namibian to create hype and support the national teams with everything they have.

More corporate business must invest in these teams before the tournament begins.

The job was done to qualify for these major continental and global tournaments.

There is however a bigger job that lies ahead because both of these teams will seek their first-ever victories in the competitions.

The national football team is yet to win a match at these tournaments over two appearances, while the rugby team makes its sixth appearance and still seeking victory at the world cup.

Winning at such big tournaments where you are pitted against some of the biggest nations is something that takes a lot of preparation.

We all know that most of the teams competing in these competitions go through immense preparations.

So much money is invested in these nations and that is why they are often successful when it comes to these competitions.

I must however laud and show my utmost respect to the companies that have continued to support football and rugby despite all the economic difficulties Namibia is in at the moment.

Their support has been echoed through the successes the national teams have enjoyed over the past couple of years.

Namibia Breweries Limited, MTC, FNB, Debmarine, Bidvest Namibia and Standard Bank Namibia have been among the few contributors towards the success of the rugby and football national teams.

I would be wrong if I failed to mention the recent involvement of Namdia and Build It in our football.

There might be other unsung corporate companies and business individuals that have supported these teams, and I thank them too.

I must however also express my disappointment in some companies that operate in Namibia who are yet to sponsor a single penny for our football and rugby.

I do understand that some companies sponsor other sport codes.

Having said that, I deem it important to note that some companies are actually only here to milk our resources dry but have not been involved in sport development.

These are the companies that need to show Namibians that they really to appreciate us and the products they take from us by giving back to the community though supporting sport.

Lastly, the two teams who will represent us at these big competitions must make sure that they do not just make up numbers but must work hard towards getting that big victory we are all yearning for.

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