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Bafana begin Cosafa Cup preparations



South Africa

South Africa coach Gordon Igesund says fielding a strong team at the COSAFA Cup Zambia 20134 is his top priority in the coming weeks.

Igesund says he will be putting together the best possible selection from the country’s Premier Soccer League and now that the country’s 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification duties are complete for the moment, will begin engaging with clubs this week to assemble a winning side.

"In the next couple of days I'm going to identify a few players that I need from each [PSL] team," Igesund told reporters.

Cloete, Areseb called up

Riaan Cloete

The Namibia Premier League player of the season Riaan Cloete of African Stars and Orlando Pirates midfielder Mervin Areseb have been called up to the Brave Warriors squad in preparation for the Cosafa Cup competition that takes place in Zambia next month.

The diminutive Stars midfielder had a great season, helping them win two trophies, and was a popular choice for Player of the Season at the NPL awards ceremony on June 8.

Mannetti appointed Brave Warriors coach

Ricardo Mannetti and Barry Rukoro

The Namibia Football Association on Wednesday announced the appointment of Ricardo Mannetti as the Brave Warriors head coach on a two-year contract.

The appointment follows the sudden resignation of Roger Palmgren from Sweden who resigned after barely a month in charge, citing safety concerns due to serious threats against him and his family.

NFA secretary general Barry Rukoro said they had been grooming Mannetti for the head coach position and that circumstances had now necessitated his appointment.

Hlupic and Fisher ready for World Champs

Till Hlupic

Tin Hlupic and Gerard Fischer won the fourth tournament of the KIA National Beach Volleyball Tour that took place at the DTS club in Olympia last Saturday.

A total of 36 sides participated in five different categories while the event was sponsored by Maerua Superspar.

Hlupic and Fischer managed to grab their second career title in the men’s competition that saw seven teams squaring off in the double elimination format.

Namibia qualifies for Junior Fed Cup

Sedi Jacobs

Namibia’s Under 16 girls tennis team qualified for the International Tennis Federation’s Junior Federations Cup after finishing second at the African Junior Team qualifying event in Tunisia last week.

The Namibian team of Sedi Jacobs and Lize Moolman won four of its five matches to finish second behind Egypt who remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. Namibia’s victories came against Kenya, South Africa, Morocco and Tunisia.

Namibia started off with impressive 3-0 victories against Kenya and South Africa before beating Tunisia and Morocco 2-1.

Brave Gladiators win in Boys League

Melissa Matheus

With the 2014 African Women’s Football Championships due to be hosted in Namibia, the Brave Gladiators are hard at work and competing in the Khomas U/17 Boys League where they recorded their first win with a 2-1 victory over Scorpions over the weekend.

Mangulikeni Hamata opened the scoring for the Brave Gladiators with a strong header on 21 minutes after a perfect corner kick from Emmerencia Fredericks.

Just before halftime, Juliana Skrywer made it 2-0 with a chip over the Scorpions keeper after a well-timed  defence-splitting pass from Lena Noreses in midfield.

Revivals big winners

Revivals

Revivals Volleyball Club (RVC) were the big winners at the Bank Windhoek National Volleyball Ladies League held in Grootfontein last Saturday.

The team climbed four spots to third place on the log after beating Oshikoto Nampol (ONVC) and Eleven Warriors in spectacular style.

The Katutura outfit defeated ONVC 3-1 in an action-packed match that kept the crowd thrilled throughout its duration, while they beat the host team Eleven Warriors 3-0.

Namibia third at Zone 4 Boxing Champs

Mujandjae Kasuto and Ruben Shilongo

Namibia won a total of five medals, consisting of two gold, two silver and one bronze medal, to finish third overall at the African Zone IV Boxing Championships which took place in Gaberone, Botswana from June 11 to 15.

The tournament was won by South Africa who won nine medals (three gold, one silver and five bronze), while Botswana came second with a total of seven medals (two gold, two silver and three bronze medals).

Namibia’s gold medallists were Mujandjae Kasuto in the 75kg middleweight category and Ruben Shilongo in the 91kg heavyweight final.

Basson lauds team

Danie Dames

The president of the Namibia Rugby Union, Bradley Basson praised Namibia’s national rugby team for their discipline and commitment, after they beat Tunisia 45-13 in the final of the CAR Division 1B Cup on Saturday.

“The final against Tunisia was a big challenge for us, but I can tell you the guys were disciplined and very well prepared for that match and I believe the discipline and commitment helped them through that match," he said.

Rugby champions return home

Jaco Engels

Namibia’s national rugby team returned home to a heroes welcome at the Hosea Kutako International Airport on Monday, with their participation at the 2015 Rugby World Cup still firmly on track.

A small crowd of mostly family and friends was on hand to welcome the players and management back as they entered the arrival hall with the CAR Africa Division 1B trophy firmly in their grasp, after Namibia beat Tunisia 45-13 in a stormy final in Senegal on Saturday.