Gladiators face Ethiopia

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Following the Brave Gladiators’ two consecutive defeats against the visiting Ghanaian’s Black Queens, attention now turns to Sunday’s international friendly match against another African women’s football powerhouse, Ethiopia. The match will take place at the Sam Nujoma Stadium at 16:00.
The Brave Gladiators lost 3-1 on Independence Day and again suffered a 3-0 defeat on Tuesday against the Black Queens as they continue their preparation for the hosting of the ninth edition of the CAF Africa Women’s Championship scheduled for October this year in Windhoek.
The Gladiators now have another chance to test themselves against the Ethiopian women’s side when they meet on Sunday.

According to Jackey Gertze, NFA Technical Director Klaus Staerk, who was in charge during the second defeat to Ghana, will again be in charge of the team in the absence of head coach Jacqueline Shipanga who is attending the FIFA Women Under-17 World Cup in Costa Rica. “The team had a good first half against Ghana on Independence Day in which they scored a lovely goal through Lovisa Mulunga and in the second half, things were not so good.
“The team is expected to treat all games we play with utmost competitiveness. We need to raise the bar and we must believe that we can do it and play well,” said Gertze.
Barry Rukoro, secretary-general of the NFA, echoes Gertze’s comments that these preparatory games are very important.

“We are spending a lot of money bringing the best in Africa down here to test our ladies and see how we can improve going forward and we are confident that the team will come good at the right time and they will represent Namibia well during the championship and with the support of the nation, we can dream and dream big indeed,” Rukoro said.
Meanwhile, Gladiators defender Stacey Naris is attending a two-week youth leadership camp in Germany which deals with the role of sport in community development. Naris left for Germany on March 19 and is part of about 30 young people from around the world who are taking part in the camp hosted by the National Children’s Football Alliance movement.

“I’m really honoured to be part of this camp and I aim to learn so much from it.
“We are learning how to use sports to improve the lives of our young people and this is something we need in Namibia as well.”

The 22-year-old Naris added that her experience at the camp would help in her role with the Galz and Goals project, as well the national team ahead of the October 2014 CAF Women Championships in Namibia.
“As a volunteer for Galz and Goals I see this as an opportunity to gain more knowledge and try to plough it back and contribute to the protection of our young ones, especially girls. Our communities are infested with drugs and alcohol and we need to give these young girls hope and belief that they can be better and change the world. For our team, issues of improved teamwork and discipline can also add value,” Naris said.