Tura Magic Women’s football team will use the upcoming inaugural Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Women’s Champions League as an opportunity to advance the matters of the Namibian girl child in the world of sports.
This was revealed by the club’s chairperson, Isack Hamata, who said Namibian women deserve their space in the world of sport as evidenced by their recent exploits in various disciplines.
“The Cosafa Woman’s Championship presents an opportunity for the girls to go and showcase what Namibia is [all] about, the same way our two sprinting girls (Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma) now and the Hockey National Team have done in the past,” Hamata said, adding that the tournament also presents opportunities for Namibian players to get signed by professional clubs, while Namibian football has a chance to find partnerships with other teams at the tournament.
He added that as a club, they have also learnt a lot of things during their engagements with the Namibia Football Association and Cosafa, as they go about the logistics of the tournament.
Hamata called upon the nation at large to rally behind the club, saying the exercise is a costly one and the club will need in excess of N.dollars 1 million to fulfil this commitment.
Magic also announced that Cosafa under-17 winning coach, Timothy Tjongarero, will be in charge as head coach, while the team’s regular coach, Shama Gure, becomes assistant coach because of specifications when it comes to the qualification of the coaches.
Tjongarero said they are currently in negotiations with the NFA to get permission for the girls to start training.
“It will be an uphill task for us because of the COVID-19 regulations banning contact sport. Buffaloes have five or more players in the Zambian national team that participated in the ongoing Olympics in Japan, while Rhinos are also busy training,” he said, referring to the club’s opponents at the upcoming contest.
Tura Magic was drawn against top-seeded team Green Buffaloes of Zambia and Black Rhino Queens of Zimbabwe in Group B on 29 July in South Africa.
The tournament will take place from 26 August to 04 September in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa.
Source: Namibia Press Agency
