EDITORIAL: Homeless on the pitch - Namibia’s shameful stadium failure

Namibia’s dream of reaching the 2026 FIFA World Cup is over. The Brave Warriors fell 3-0 to Tunisia, ending their qualification hopes. But beyond the scoreline lies a deeper, more shameful truth - one that has nothing to do with the players’ skill, but everything to do with our national neglect.For years, Namibia has been a football nation without a home. Our “home” matches have been played in empty, foreign stadiums - sterile grounds without the roar of local supporters, without the familiar energy that fuels a team to fight beyond its limits. The Brave Warriors were effectively orphans on the pitch, stripped of their 12th man - the Namibian crowd that could have lifted them when their legs grew heavy and spirits dimmed.It is disgraceful that a country with such passionate football fans cannot host an international match on its own soil because it lacks a FIFA-approved stadium. Independence Stadium in Windhoek - once the fortress of Namibian football - stands as a crumbling monument to government neglect and misplaced priorities. Promises to refurbish or rebuild have piled up like dust in the stands, while our athletes continue to pay the price for administrative inertia.Playing abroad robs the players of emotional fuel and denies the local economy the benefits that come with hosting international games. Most painfully, it deprives Namibians of moments of collective pride - of singing their anthem in unison, of celebrating goals under the Namibian sky.This is not just a sports issue - it is a national embarrassment. Our failure to provide a proper stadium speaks volumes about how little seriousness is attached to sport as a unifying and nation-building force.Government must treat this as an urgent national priority. Not another committee. Not another feasibility study. Action.

EDITORIAL: Homeless on the pitch - Namibia’s shameful stadium failure

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-14

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EDITORIAL: Homeless on the pitch - Namibia’s shameful stadium failure

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-14

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