Senior sports officer in the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service, Roger Kambatuku says his goal as the interim head of the Namibia School Sport Union (NSSU) is to bring back school competitions.
Kambatuku has been seconded by the ministry to act as NSSU national coordinator from 01 February 2023.
The senior sports officer, who has vast experience including serving in the Namibia Football Association Executive Committee, will be in charge of NSSU operations as well as the NSSU reform process as envisaged in the integrated physical education and school sport policy.
In an interview with Nampa on Thursday, Kambatuku said his first task in office is to communicate with all stakeholders as well as seek solutions to bring back school competitions.
“For us to have Namibians represented well at school levels we need to create synergy between private schools and all the academies running different sporting activities as all these kids have an opportunity to represent their country despite where they are competing,” he said, adding that in the past mostly learners from government schools were considered for selection at NSSU level.
Kambatuku added that competitions such as the Coca-Cola Youth Cup are at the top of his agenda, noting that regional competitions must be reintroduced at school levels.
“With Debmarine currently involved in sponsoring youth sports at the national level this brilliant idea should be taken down to the regional level so that many young Namibians can be involved,” Kambatuku said.
He stated that focusing on school leagues and reforming the body itself by implementing policies and governance rules will grow the body as well as execute its mandate of developing sports at the grassroots level.
Kambatuku replaces Solly Duiker, the union’s long-serving coordinator, who was suspended in October 2022 after he led a delegation of over 260 athletes to Potchefstroom, South Africa, to participate in the Confederation of Southern African Schools Sports Associations (Cosassa) Games, which never took place. The team arrived at an empty stadium.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
