Trouble in paradise

Coach Mamie Kasaona says people have no right to blame the women under-20 national team's humiliating defeat against Botswana on the players or coach. Rather, she says, the Fifa normalisation committee is liable. The Young Gladiators suffered a 7-0 defeat to Botswana in the first leg of their Fifa Under-20 World Cup qualifiers at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Sunday. It was a defeat that stirred criticism from many locals who questioned the level of the national team and the development of football in the country. Many took the players and the Fifa normalisation committee (NC) to task, asking how the team could perform so poorly against their neighbours. The coach, however, insisted that the fault lies with how the training camp was organised.“People must ask these questions to the Fifa normalisation committee and not me. “The NFA was already aware in November that this match was scheduled for January, but we only started preparations last week.“How can you expect to beat a team that already started preparing for this match in November?” Kasaona fumed. She added she was only called in recently to assemble the team that went up against Botswana.Namibian Sun understands that most of the players had been on holiday and only returned days before the match took place. “It is extremely difficult to get the players to full fitness in a short period of time. “I had no choice but to throw most of these young ladies in the game because we could definitely not postpone the match,” Kasaona said. The NC however attributes the defeat to a lack of funding from the government and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).NC vice-chairperson Franco Cosmos says the coaching staff had the option to withdraw from the match but opted to play. “It is unacceptable that they are putting the blame on the committee because they lost 7-0.“We asked them if they are ready to play and they said that they will play even when we gave them an option to withdraw.“People must understand that we have gone 18 international games without any assistance from the government and there was therefore no money to have these teams prepared earlier,” Cosmos said. He further added that the committee's requests for funding from CAF have gone unanswered.“CAF knows about our situation and that is why they understood when we withdrew the under-17 team from taking part in a similar competition.“This is more of a bread-and-butter issue because these people were forcing to proceed with this match in order for them to get paid,” Cosmos said. With the second leg still pending, Namibia's chances of qualifying for the football showpiece are just about over.The Young Gladiators face an impossible task of having to score eight goals with no reply if they are to advance to the next stage.A 7-0 victory over their counterparts away from home could force the match into extra-time and penalties. The World Cup, which has been contested by under-20 national teams since 2002, will be hosted by Panama and Costa Rica in August. Jesse Jackson Kauraisa

Trouble in paradise

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-07

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Trouble in paradise

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-07

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