The May edition of Namibia Sport marks a special occasion – it’s the 100th edition since our launch in February 2002. I must say, I’m quite proud of this achievement especially since the magazine industry in Namibia is a notoriously difficult one to survive in, and quite a few other publications have come and gone over the years.
It was a dream of mine to start a Namibian sport magazine, and with the support of Henry Fernandes, the owner of our printers, Solitaire Press, that dream became a reality. It was a dream whose time had arrived and since then the magazine has come out on a monthly basis without fail.
We managed to keep Namibia Sport alive through the dedication and hard work of our small staff, as well as the support from our readers and advertisers. Through your continued support, we have managed to survive and prosper, and according to a media survey that was conducted two years ago, Namibia Sport has now become the most read local publication in Namibia.
I would like to thank all of you for helping us make this publication what it is today – a top class sport publication, enjoyed by young and old Namibians of all walks of life, who all share a common passion, namely sport.
A big supporter is our own world champion boxer, Paulus ‘The Hitman’ Moses, who appears on the May magazine's cover. We have covered The Hitman’s career since his first professional fight seven years ago, and in this issue we bring you a special message by The Hitman.
The May issue is packed with news covering a variety of sport codes.
The MTC Premiership is heading for an exciting finale, and although African Stars seem to have wrapped up the title after beating Orlando Pirates last month, Pirates still have a small chance of snatching the title from Stars. If Civics beat Stars on the 14th of this month, the title race will go down to the final round of matches a week later. Read about the exciting Premiership race and the bold statement by Civics manager Paul Stramis, that they will ‘spoil Stars’ party’ this month.
The cricket season has come to an end and although Namibia struggled in the South African provincial competition, they fared much better in the ICC Intercontinental Shield competition, thrashing Bermuda by an innings and 185 runs last month. In the process Namibia’s young opening batsmen Raymond van Schoor and Ewald Steenkamp rewrote the record books with a brilliant 374-run partnership, underlining the fact that there are some great new talents coming through the ranks.
The national rugby team also struggled in their Vodacom Cup campaign, finishing second last in their group, but they picked up invaluable experience against strong opposition. With the local Premier League having started and more international matches in the pipeline next month with the IRB Nations Cup and the African Cup competitions, Namibian rugby continues to progress, as it prepares for next year’s World Cup in New Zealand.
We also report on the African Waterski Championships that Namibia hosted last month, the Brave Warriors’ defeat to the Seychelles and the Namibia Newspaper Cup, as well as the athletics season and Rodger Haitengi’s fantastic new national triple jump record.
With the greatest sporting spectacle yet to be staged in Africa, the FIFA World Cup, starting in neighbouring South Africa next month, World Cup fever has gripped Namibia, as could be seen on the nationwide tour by the official mascot Zakumi last month. Namibia Sport accompanied that tour to places like Swakopmund and Walvis Bay in the west and Otjiwarongo, Tsumeb, Ondangwa, Oshakati and Grootfontein in the north, and I can tell you that the nation can’t wait for the World Cup to start.
We bring you our final countdown to the World Cup with profiles on the teams in Group G and H, as well as our regular features like the MTC Player of the Month competition, ‘They said it,’ the Local Shorts, Sport Science and the monthly sport calendar.
I hope you enjoy this special edition and remember to check out our website for the latest results, match report, photos and interviews.