A 35-member Brave Warriors team left for Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) Monday morning, where they will camp in preparation for the 20th Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) tournament scheduled for 06 to 18 July.
Team manager, Cyril Isacks, confirmed to Nampa on Monday that the team had left for South Africa and are scheduled to play a friendly match with Lesotho on Saturday.
“We will continue with our preparations in NMB, where we will also play a friendly match with Lesotho on Saturday. The coach will then announce his final 25-member team to take part in the tournament after the game,” he said.
Meanwhile, COSAFA has confirmed that the tournament will go ahead as planned, despite South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, announcing on Sunday that the country would move to adjusted level four restrictions to combat a rise in COVID-19 infections that are largely contained in the Gauteng Province.
In a statement released on Monday, COSAFA said the updated Government Gazette states that professional sports events around the country may continue, as long as the appropriate precautions are put in place.
The statement added that restrictions on inter-provincial travel in South Africa does not apply to transit through OR TAMBO International Airport in Johannesburg, and travel for the purposes of business is permitted.
“COSAFA has already put in place strict COVID-19 protocols to ensure the safety of all role players, including operating within a bio-bubble and playing matches behind closed doors,” the statement added.
The Brave Warriors were drawn in Group C, alongside six-time Cosafa champions Zimbabwe, Confederation of African Football (CAF) number one-ranked nation Senegal and Mozambique.
Below are the names of the provisional Brave Warriors squad members for the 2021 Cosafa Cup;
Goalkeepers: Loydt Kazapua, Virgil Vries, Edward Maova and Kamaijanda Ndisiro
Defenders: Tiberius Lombardt, Kennedy Amutenya, Larry Horaeb, Ananias Gebhardt, Immanuel Heita, Riaan Hanamub, Ivan Kamberipa, Emilio Martin, Amazing Kandjii, Aprocius Petrus and Charles Hambira.
Midfielders: Deon Hotto, Dynamo Fredericks, Ambrosious Amseb, Wendel Rudath, Quinton van Staden, Gustav Isaak, Llewellyn Stanley, Absalom Iimbondi, Marcel Papama, Prins Tjiueza, Willy Stephanus, Alfeus Handura and Wesley Katjiteo.
Strikers: McCartney Nawaseb, Sadney Urikhob, Elmo Kambindu, Isaskar Gurirab, Joslin Kamatuka, Junior Theophilus and Salomon Omseb.
Source: Namibia Press Agency
