The first round of the MTC Premiership ended in thrilling fashion in December with defending champions African Stars taking the lead in the title race. Stars edged ahead of Katutura rivals Black Africa and Orlando Pirates after the latter two played out to a goalless draw in a passionate derby on December 11. The result left Stars just ahead of Pirates on goal difference, while Black Africa was lying third, two points off the pace.
The excitement on the field was fuelled by intriguing developments off it, as Ali Akan resigned as Black Africa coach amidst rumours that the famed Dutch coach Clemens Westerhof would take over as technical director. Furthermore, Hendrik Dawids resigned as owner of Pirates, saying he would hand the team back to the community, leaving a cloud of uncertainty over the future financial wellbeing of the players and staff.
The second round promises to deliver a fascinating battle and although it is still early days yet, the three Katutura giants now have the inside edge in the final run in.
Our national rugby team once again excelled when they qualified for the 2011 Rugby World Cup by beating Tunisia home and away. It will be their fourth successive World Cup - a remarkable performance for a small nation like ours - but a lot of hard work lies ahead if Namibia hopes to win its first match at the World Cup.
Namibia has habitually underperformed on the biggest stage, more due to administrative blunders than anything else, and the Namibia Rugby Union’s leaders will be well advised to learn from past mistakes, and to continue on the successful path that outgoing coach John Williams has set.
Namibia’s cricket team had a disappointing month, losing to the United Arab Emirates for the first time in a four-day match, while calls for transformation within cricket have started to intensify. At a roundtable discussion on sport and development organised by Unicef last month, the Chief Administrator of the Namibia Sport Commission, Rusten Mogane called on cricket to transform both in terms of national representation on the field and in its management structures off it.
Mogane also took aim at institutions who sponsor certain sporting codes without informing the NSC about it. Although the discussions were prematurely cut short, it was clear that a lot of divergent views exist and that more needs to be said on this issue, which will hopefully happen soon at a follow up round table discussion.
The biggest sporting event yet to hit Africa, the 2010 FIFA World Cup is now only a matter of months away and we got a taste of what to expect when the final draw was made at a glitzy ceremony in Cape Town in December. Thousands of fans thronged Cape Town’s streets, while billions of viewers watched the draw live on television. Africa’s six representatives all got difficult draws but no easy matches can be expected against the world’s best nations.
We also bring you a review of 2009’s sporting highlights and top sporting photos, as well as our regular columns on the MTC Player of the Month, the Nashua Sporting Calendar, the Bank Windhoek Sport Science column and Local Sport Shorts. Remember to catch daily sport updates on our growing website at www.namibiasport.com.na
From this month we have increased our cover price to N$9.50, mainly due to rising printing costs. It is the first time in five years that we have increased the cover price so hopefully you will have understanding for our situation.
I would like to thank our loyal readers and advertisers for your continued support and wish you all a fantastic 2010. Bring it on!
Helge Schutz