A Namibian under-15 girls football team will represent Africa at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics taking place in China in August.
A Namibian under-15 girls football team will represent Africa at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics taking place in China in August.
In November 2012, a decision was taken by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the Namibia Football Association (NFA)’s girls U-15 team to be the sole representatives of the continent at the 14 to 17 August 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China.
A media statement issued by the NFA on Tuesday quoted the association’s president, John Muinjo, as saying he is looking forward to Namibia representing Africa.
“We have invested a lot in youth football structures and we have indeed taken women’s football seriously at the association. That has won the hearts of the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) and CAF, and that’s why we were selected to be Africa’s representatives,” said Muinjo.
He added that it is an honour to be selected because, amongst others things, the team will serve as a blueprint for women’s football.
In the same statement, Jackey Gertze of the NFA’s Women’s Desk said it has always been the association’s wish to get maximum exposure for young talented girl footballers in order to ensure their early development into national players.
“This is a proud moment for NFA and its partners FIFA, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), Spar and the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture, which invest tremendously in the Youth Girls Football Development initiative of the NFA,” she said.
Speaking to Nampa on Tuesday, U-15 national team manager Eveline !Noreses said they are looking forward to the competition and she is satisfied with the girls training so far.
“The girls will be ready for the tournament, but at the moment we hope to get a number of friendly games to prepare the girls well before the tournament. We don’t just want to add up numbers, we want to compete like all the other teams that will be in China,” said !Noreses.
The NFA has called up a 25-member squad of players who compete in the U-15 Galz and Goals leagues in Windhoek, Eenhana, Rundu, Otjiwarongo, and Okahandja. These girls were selected last June during the Galz and Goals U-15 National Championship hosted in Windhoek.
Cape Verde will represent Africa in the boy’s event of the tournament, which will see boys and girls under the age of 15 (born between 1 January and 31 December 1999), taking part.
– Nampa
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