Warriors snubbed for national awards

THE OMISSION of the Brave Warriors from this year’s MTC/NSC Namibia Sports Awards is “an embarrassment”, NFA secretary general Barry Rukoro said on Thursday.

The Namibia Football Association seconded the Brave Warriors, the team’s head coach Ricardo Mannetti and the Baby Warriors for nomination by the awards committee. But none made the grade, drawing sharp criticism from Rukoro.

Instead, the senior and under-20 national rugby teams, and the senior women’s national indoor hockey side were shortlisted for the team of the year award.

The NFA put forth the senior side’s nomination on the back of the Brave Warriors’ against-the-odds qualification for next year’s African Nations Championship (Chan), an achievement deemed inferior to the shortlisted teams’ qualification for respective world cups.

The under-17 Warriors were endorsed for winning the 2016 Cosafa youth championships.

“As far as we are concerned, it is an unnecessary embarrassment. We feel very aggrieved by what transpired, because even when people thought it won’t happen, the team qualified,” Rukoro, who hinted at an entrenched conspiracy to undermine football’s successes, told The Namibian Sport.

Mannetti did not make the coach of the year shortlist, which comprises Michael Hamukwaya (athletics), Erwin Handura (field hockey) and Nestor Tobias (boxing).

“We have been indirectly told not to take part in the awards. There is a trend from the awards committee to disregard NFA achievements. We could not understand the decisions in the past, but what happened now confirmed our suspicions.”

The irate football official questioned the criteria and proficiency of the judging panel, for which he would query Namibia Sport Commission chief administrator Freddy Mwiya.

“I have nothing against rugby or hockey. They did nothing wrong. Maybe we have a different understanding of sports from the awards committee because clearly our assessment is not aligned. The decision to ignore what the Brave Warriors did is not an informed one,” said Rukoro.

Unlike football, rugby and hockey have less stringent opposition in Africa, which makes their path to major events less challenging, he stated.

Rukoro highlighted the fact that the national team qualified for the Chan, a competition reserved for players who compete on home soil only, without a domestic league, as no minuscule accomplishment.

“We don’t know what criteria was used to determine the nominations. For instance, qualifying for the Africa Nations Cup is not the same as qualifying for the Rugby World Cup. We have over 50 nations in football in Africa, and over half of those are very competitive, whereas you have a handful of rugby-playing nations in Africa. It is almost guaranteed that Namibia will be at a Rugby World Cup. So, even if we win the Nations Cup one day, we will still be seen as not good enough,” Rukoro lamented.

The rest of the 2017 MTC/NSC Namibia Sports Awards nominees are:

Development Programme of the year – netball coaches and umpire programme, NCF Kids on Bike regional expansion programme, field hockey development programme; Umpire – Oscar Lambert (rugby), Jackson Pavaza (football), Nestor Tobias (boxing); Junior Sportswoman with Disability – Olivia Iyambo and Kertu Kapweya (both athletics); Junior Sportswoman – Sade de Sousa (athletics), Charlize van Zyl (gymnastics), Heleni Stergiadis (swimming); Junior Sportsman – Ivan Danny Geldenhys (athletics), Delano Muller (kick-boxing), Lance Potgieter (gymnastics); Junior Sportsman with Disability – Dian Jansen, Kristopher Marungu, Mateus Kambundu (all athletics); Sportswoman – Helalia Johannes (athletics), Michelle Vorster (cycling), Magreth Mengo (indoor hockey); Sportswoman with Disability: Johanna Benson and Lahja Ishitile (both athletics);

Sportsman with Disability – Eino Mushila, Ananias Shikongo, Johannes Nambala (all athletics); Sportsman – Lesley !Hoaeb (kick-boxing), Julius Indongo (boxing), Jean-Paul Burger – (triathlon).