Westphalia, Namibia celebrate 20 years of cooperation

The Football and Athletics Association of Westphalia (FLVW) and Namibia recently celebrated 20 years of co-operation in sport development with more than 150 guests filling the Sportcentrum Kamen Kaiserau in Germany last Friday. “What started out in the field with a pure football exchange now has many ramifications and has developed in recent years to further development projects,” FLVW president Hermann Korfmacher said. Brave Gladiators player Veweziwa Kotjipati and former Brave Warriors player Collin Benjamin shared their German experiences. “Germany has become a second home for me,” said Kotjipati, who plays for the second team of FSV Gütersloh in the Westphalia Women’s League. Benjamin, who also played for the Hamburger SV and TSV 1860 München in the German Bundesliga, recalled that his first days in Germany were spent on the FLVW premises. “In Kaiserau is where it all started. This partnership has influenced my career,” recalled Benjamin about his first visit to Westphalia in the mid-1990s. For Westphalia, Michael Elsing and Schalke’s Julian Draxler shared their experience of the tour to Namibia in 2010. Dagmar Freitag, Member of the German Parliament (Bundestag), Chairman of the Sports Committee and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag, raised the importance of the Westphalia-Namibian partnership in her speech. Namibia Football Association (NFA) president Frans Mbidi thanked Namibia’s Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture of the Republic of Namibia for the dedication of all those involved in recent years. Namibia School Sports’ director Bernhard Kaanjuka was also present. Field of play On the field of play the young Namibians recorded a 4-1 victory over Westphalia under-17 last week Wednesday with Jandjamuje Maharero bagging a brace and Brandon Kotungondo and Bonifatius Paulino scoring the other goals. On Tuesday Namibia’s under-18s faced their counterparts from Westphalia under-18 at the Karmen Kaiserau Sport Centre. The encounter ended one-all with Venovineja Tjikundi scoring Namibia’s goal. The team will play against a Westphalia Junior Select Team today in what is their last match on tour. The team is expected back in the country on Sunday morning. WINDHOEK-NFA.ORG.NA