Unam struggles to sign players

University of Namibia (Unam) football coach Ronnie Kanalelo says the signing of players has become a big problem for his club as they cannot offer players accommodation. He said this in an interview with Nampa on Wednesday ahead of the start of the second leg of the Namibia Premier League (NPL) tomorrow. “We are currently in search of two centre-backs. These guys are not available and at Unam it is currently difficult to provide accommodation for players from outside Windhoek. “I was planning on bringing in a Ghanaian player plus a goalkeeper and a centre-back, but we cannot bring in these players because we don’t have accommodation for them. But I hope these are things that will change in the future,” said Kanalelo. He added that Unam has a hostel at its main campus in Windhoek, but most of the facilities are privately owned and that makes it difficult for the team to accommodate its players. “Most clubs in the Premier League have an edge over us because they are able to bring in players from outside Windhoek and offer those players accommodation. At the moment, Unam is the only team that is not able to do that and it’s sad. “We have the old block that is Unam’s property. I hope in the future we can find flats or rooms that can be used by players from outside Windhoek that don’t have accommodation,” he said. With regard to his team’s games this weekend against Rundu Chiefs and Young Chiefs, Kanalelo said his team was ready and would be going for points. “I lost two players – [one] went back to South Africa and [another] who is also not with the team since he went back to his club KK Palace. But on Saturday, we are going to play our game and get points, as it is crucial to win the starting games,” he said. The NPL resumes with Tigers well ahead of their rivals. They have been installed as favourites to win the NPL, given that they were unbeaten during the first 15 matches. Having amassed a six-point lead, Tigers need only draw to maintain their spot at the top of the log standing after this weekend’s action. But with the second leg always more intense, the Shandumbala team will be mindful of the lurking danger of the second-placed Black Africa, Orlando Pirates, who are ninth points behind, and defending NPL champions African Stars, who are in fourth place. –Nampa, with additional reporting by own reporter. HESRON KAPANGA