editor's blog

Spain won the Windhoek Lager Tri-Nations series after beating Namibia 38-37 in the final match on November 17, but despite the defeat, Namibia can look forward to 2013 with renewed hope.

It was a match that Namibia should have won, after leading 26-17 at halftime, but poor options and some poor defence saw them losing in the end. Two of Spain’s tries came from missed tackles and poor options, as Namibia tried to attack from behind their own tryline, leading captain PJ van Lill to rebuke some of the new players in the squad for their lack of big match temperament.

I had the honour to accompany Team Namibia to the London Olympic Games and what a privilege it was.

The world watched in awe as the Olympics took centre stage and the athletes lived up to the billing, as 30 new world records and 66 Olympic records were established.

Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian in history with an incredible 18 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals, while Usain Bolt became a ‘living legend’ by becoming the first sprinter to win the 100m and 200m at successive Olympics.

Black Africa striker Jerome Louis capped a great season by winning our FNB Player of the Season award after he received the most votes from our panel of judges, made up of the Premier League coaches and you, the readers of Namibia Sport.

Louis helped Black Africa win the Namibia Premier League title for the second year in a row while he finished as joint top goalscorer with 12 goals alongside Richard Kavendji of Hotspurs.

Namibian athletes Tjipekapora Herunga and Globine Mayova set the track alight with some exceptional performances at the South African Yellow Pages series during April and May.

Not since the days of Agnes Samaria have Namibian female track athletes made such an impact in South Africa and on this form we certainly haven’t seen the last of them yet.

Both athletes won several races against southern Africa’s top athletes, while Herunga broke the Namibian 400m record and Mayova the 100m and 200m national records.

Black Africa clinched the 2011/12 Premier League title with a 2-1 victory against Orlando Pirates at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on April 14.

It was the perfect setting, in front of their diehard fans and against their traditional rivals, and although they went down 1-0 shortly after halftime, they responded like true champions. They stepped up the tempo as Eslin Kamuhanga equalised from a swift counterattack, while Jerome Louis scored the winner with an exquisite lob into an empty net.

Bernard Kaanjuka suffered his first defeat as Brave Warriors coach when they lost 1-0 to Liberia in an Afcon 2013 qualifying match in Monrovia on February 29.

After a string of great results which included a goalless draw against eventual African champions Zambia, Kaanjuka finally tasted defeat for the first time in seven matches in the hot seat.

Black Africa are well on course to win the Namibia Premier League title for a second successive year, after building up a nine-point lead over the chasing pack.

BA started the second round off with a draw against SKW and a victory against Tigers, and after 13 matches they were still unbeaten, with 10 wins and three draws.

It now seems that only a major loss of form will stop their title quest, but despite their big lead, some of the other clubs have not written off their chances.

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.