Kordom quits Gladiators

Annouschka Kordom has made herself unavailable for the Brave Gladiators indefinitely over unresolved issues with the Namibia Football Association, ending a 12-year association with the national teams.

The 25-year-old midfielder said her concerns about the welfare of women’s football in the country have fallen on deaf ears at the NFA, leaving her with no other alternative.

On Wednesday, Kordom announced her retirement from international football on her social platforms.

“People think the decision is motivated by money, but it is not. I made it a point to highlight the fact that it was never about the money for me, I did that twice. But still the highlight or takeaway is ‘unresolved money issues’,” Kordom told The Namibian Sport when contacted for comment yesterday.

“Yes, it is one of the reasons, but it is not the main reason. I have wanted to step away for a very long time prior to [former interim Brave Gladiators head coach] Woody [Jacobs]’s appointment as coach, but I had something to prove to myself. This decision was not made lightly, yet people think I am making unnecessary noise,” said Kordom, who plays pre-professionally for American club Capital FC Atletica in the USL W League Northwest Division.

She claims to have written to the NFA leadership “a little over eight weeks ago”, detailing her grievances regarding “things I felt I was a victim of for many years”.

Kordom declined to make the contents of the letter public. The Namibia Football Association had not responded to a query on the subject by yesterday.

“This is a stand against injustice, it is to bring awareness to things we have been victims of since the beginning,” Kordom said. 

“Sharing the contents of that letter would take the attention away from the issue at hand and turn into a ‘he said, she said’ fight. And, I’ve been around long enough, done this long enough to know that when it gets to that, we always lose,” she says.

According to Kordom, she first flagged the unspecified “unequal treatment” in 2014 when Namibia hosted the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

“That landed me in trouble,” she recalled. “I was 17 and had to deal with the pressure of high school, making the squad, an injury, personal matters and a fight between me, [players’] union and the NFA.

“Things got better. And, then it got extremely worse. There were in-house fights and normalisation committees had to be introduced. Every time, better is promised and we get within reach, but then we call short.”

Last year, the Gladiators’ high profile player, Zenatha Coleman, also briefly quit the team over differences with NFA.

Coleman returned to the Brave Gladiators fold later after finding common ground with NFA.

“It was lovely to play along side you Annouscka Kordom … Best wishes in your next journey … God bless you,” Coleman commented when sharing Kordom’s Facebook post.

World over, several high-profile women footballers have quit their national teams over systematic disparities between men and women teams.

Canada, Spain and France have made headlines in recent months as disputes between players and federations have escalated.

Many of these teams’ stars have threatened to boycott playing for their nations at the Fifa Women’s World Cup in June or quit entirely.

Players have raised concerns about pay, a lack of professional resources and how they are being managed for their national teams.

After waiting for over two months for a response that was not forthcoming, Kordom took the step to cut ties with the national team.

“I cannot go on representing something that does not appreciate me. Namibia, it has been an honour, but until I feel the same love I give, I cannot go on representing you. You will forever be my motherland, but for now, it is goodbye,” said Kordom.