editor's blog

I’m especially proud of our February 2012 issue of Namibia Sport because it marks the tenth year of our existence.

Namibia Sport started as a monthly sport magazine in February 2002 and since then we have come out on a monthly basis without fail, making Namibia Sport the longest running independent magazine in Namibia.

It has not been easy but we stuck to our task through thick and thin and now, ten years later, we have built up a record to be proud of.

With the MTC Premiership having reached the halfway stage Black Africa have built up a huge lead of 10 points on the chasing pack. After 11 matches they are still unbeaten, having won nine matches and dropping only four points in two draws.

That’s the best start to the league in recent memory, and if they can maintain this form they are set to rewrite the record books.

The Brave Warriors got off to a great start in their 2014 World Cup campaign when they beat Djibouti 8-0 on aggregate over two matches in November.

With this emphatic victory, Namibia has now progressed to Group F of the African World Cup qualifiers where they will come up against Nigeria, Malawi and Kenya in qualifying matches over the next two years.

The Namibia Premier League is once again in full swing and defending champions Black Africa have started off in great style. After five matches they were still unbeaten and streaked into the lead after beating traditional rivals African Stars 1-0 on October 15.

BA’s early season success has been built around a rock solid defence and an exciting array of attacking players such as Marco van Wyk, Bryan Bantam, Jerome Louis and new signings Eslin Kamuhanga and Klaas Blom.

A Namibian team of 40 athletes returned home with seven medals, consisting of one gold, one silver and five bronze medals, from the 10th All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique in September.

It was Namibia’s best performance at the Games since their debut in 1991, when they won 13 medals, while para-athlete Ananias Shikongo became the first Namibian gold medallist since Frank Fredericks, Harry Simon and Jorg Lindemeier 20 years ago.

Namibia’s national rugby team, the Welwitschias will compete at their fourth consecutive World Cup in New Zealand in September, hoping to create history by winning their first ever match at the global sporting spectacle.

It will be extremely difficult as they have been drawn in the “Group of Death” along with the reigning world champions South Africa, Wales, Fiji and Samoa - all teams stacked full of professional players. Namibia on the other hand, only have a handful of professionals, while the majority of players are all amateurs who still play for the love of the game.

With one of the biggest sporting spectacles on the planet, the Rugby World Cup, due to start in New Zealand in September, Namibia is hard at work preparing for the global showpiece.

Namibia will compete at their fourth successive Rugby World Cup which is a remarkable achievement for a small nation with less than 1 000 players to choose from. Besides that, rugby is an amateur sport in Namibia where players still play for the love of the game, but now they will come up against some of the world’s top professionals who have become millionaires through their trade.

Black Africa midfielder Bradley Wermann completed a great season by winning the Namibia Sport MTC Player of the Season award.

He was a popular winner with half of the judges voting for him, while it was his third award, after he had earlier scooped the NPL Player of the Season and the NPL Players’ Player of the Season awards. Wermann pocketed an unprecedented N$55 000 in prize money from league sponsors MTC - a clear indication that the Namibia Premier League is growing in stature and professionalism.

Black Africa were finally crowned league champions on April 30 when they beat archrivals Orlando Pirates 2-1 in a thrilling match at the Sam Nujoma Stadium. Pirates had taken the lead in the first half but BA came back in determined fashion in the second half, launching attack after attack and goals by Warren Neidel and Bradley Wermann gave them victory and their first league title in 12 years. They had clinched the title with two rounds to go and when the league was finally completed three weeks later, BA had won by a massive 10 points ahead of second placed Ramblers.

The local soccer season will come to a fitting end this month when the MTC Premiership title and Leo NFA Cup champions will be crowned in May.

Black Africa virtually wrapped up the MTC Premiership title when they beat their closest challengers, Ramblers, 2-0 on April 16, to open up a seven-point lead at the top of the log with only three matches remaining. With the only other team still in with a chance of winning the title, Orlando Pirates, stumbling to a 2-1 defeat to Eleven Arrows on the same day, BA are now virtually home and dry.