Football

In our focus on the upcoming Cosafa Cup in July 2013, we bring you a team profile on Kenya.

Kenya will be appearing in their first Cosafa Cup competition as a guest nation and will bring with them some East African flair.

The side are led by coach Adel Amrouche, a Belgian-born tactician who has been with the side since earlier this year.

The side have qualified for the African Nations Cup on five previous occasions, the last in 2004, but have never been past the first round.

They were beaten in the final of their regional CECAFA championship at the end of last year.

The Brave Warriors are expected back home at 19h15 on Friday as preparations for the 2014 World Cup qualifier match against Nigeria on Wednesday evening at the Sam Nujoma Stadium gather momentum.

The Brave Warriors played to a promising goalless draw against Malawi on Wednesday afternoon at the Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre and on Thursday afternoon left Malawi for Ethiopia before connecting to Johannesburg on Friday morning.

Namibia’s Brave Warriors climbed five positions to 120 in the world on the monthly FIFA rankings which were released on Wednesday.

During the period under review Namibia played to two goalless draws - at home against Zambia on May 26, and away to Malawi on June 5.

The Brave Warriors are now ranked 34th in Africa and eighth in the SADC region.

Zambia remain the top ranked nation in SADC, having dropped three places to 49th in the world.

The rest of the top ranked SADC nations are South Africa, the DRC, Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi.

In our focus on the upcoming Cosafa Cup in July 2013, we bring you a team profile on Botswana.

Botswana’s ‘Zebras’ have shown a remarkable rise in proficiency over the last years and were semifinalists in the 2007 edition of the Cosafa Senior Challenge.

They also qualified for the 2012 African Nations Cup finals, the first time they have appeared at the continental showpiece.

The team is coached by Stanley Tshosane, who is in his second spell in charge and is one of the longest serving coaches on the continent.

Botswana’s COSAFA Cup record

Football development continues to make strides in Namibia as the NFA is conducting the first-ever CAF Coaching A License course in Namibia for the elite coaches in the country.

The course started on Monday and will last for six weeks divided into three blocks.

The course will be very intensive with various specialists’ instructors coming in to do specific sessions such as Erich Rutemoller and Ralf Peter, both FIFA accredited instructors, as the chief conductors.

The Brave Warriors played to goalless draw at the Kamuzu Stadium against Malawi on Wednesday afternoon to increase their points to four in their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers CAF Group F.

According to the coach of the Brave Warriors, Roger Palmgren, a draw was a fair result for both sides but his side could have won the match as they had more chances.

In our focus on the upcoming Cosafa Cup in July 2013, we bring you a team profile on Angola.

The ‘Palancas Negras’ represented the Cosafa region at the World Cup finals in Germany in 2006 and were also quarter-finalists at the 2008 African Nations Cup finals in Ghana, as well as two years later on home soil.

The side are led by Uruguayan national Gustavo Ferrin, who has been taking the side through a rebuilding phase in the last few years.

ANGOLA COSAFA CUP RECORD

Brave Warriors coach Roger Palmgren believes his charges can overcome the Malawi test on Wednesday afternoon in their crucial 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Kamuzu Stadium.

Speaking from Blantyre via telephone, Palmgren said despite having limited time with the full squad, there were no excuses ahead of the game which takes place in Blantyre at 13h00 Namibian time on Wednesday.

With the Cosafa Cup due to take place after a four year absence in July again, Namibia Sport will bring you an overview of the competition over the next few weeks.

In our first contribution we take a trip down memory lane and take a look at the inaugural competition in 1997.

1997 Cosafa Cup - a History

Zambia were crowned inaugural champions of the COSAFA Cup after they claimed the 1997 event with top spot in the tournament mini-league.

The maiden Southern African championship featured nine sides, including East African guests Tanzania.

The final group of the Brave Warriors squad will arrive in Blantyre on Monday afternoon ahead of Wednesday’s CAF Group F 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier match scheduled for 13h30, Namibian time.

According to the NFA president John Muinjo the final group of players who were part of the 2013 Bidvest Namibia Cup final on Saturday night at the Sam Nujoma Stadium flew out on Sunday to Ethiopia and is expected to meet up with the other players by Monday.