Cosafa Cup 2016 to profit Namibia

Former Brave Warriors mentor Rusten Mogane says Namibia’s hosting of next year’s Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup will promote the country’s football image. Mogane said hosting the tournament will help the country get the necessary experience in hosting major sporting events. He said it is good for Namibia to host the tournament now that they are the champions. The tournament will take place in May 2016. “I think it is a good thing especially [now] that we are the champions, now we can defend the title on our own turf,” he said. He said if a country wants to market itself in terms of sport then hosting of events is good because it gains experience on how to organise events of such magnitude. Mogane stressed that the country needs to properly organise the tournament and ensure that there are enough funds. “It is a good thing for us to host the tournament, but we just need to plan properly, and avoid using money for wrong reasons and later have to get money from government or elsewhere,” he said. He noted that Namibia managed to successfully host the 9th Africa Women’s Championship last year. “We hosted the women’s championship before and it went well, so now that we have the experience, we must just make sure that everything is in place because it will motivate the country in the long run and give us experience in hosting events of such magnitude,” he advised. Mogane added that the tournament could drain the country financially, but expressed confidence that with the N$8 million being put aside by government he had no doubt that the event would be a successful one. Improvement He stressed however, that there are areas the country needed to improve on before hosting the tournament, adding that effective marketing is a crucial part of the process to ensure that many Namibian spectators are attracted to the stadiums during the competition. He urged the City of Windhoek and the organisers to ensure that transport arrangements are covered for spectators and fans, especially for those living in the informal settlements. “It’s not only people with money who want to watch the [live] games, but also those who are passionate about soccer and some of these people live in the informal settlements,” he says, adding that people are sometimes hesitant to watch [live] football games, because they have to struggle with taxi fares to return home after the game. Facilities Mogane says that so far, the stadiums are in good shape, especially the Independence Stadium. “If I look at where we attended football in other Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, I really think our stadiums are in good condition, especially Independence Stadium is of a good standard, so if we can use that and maybe the Sam Nujoma Stadium if they upgrade it, then we look better than other countries,” he said. WINDHOEK KAINO NGHITONGO