Stefanus Nashama
The Rundu Town Council has donated land, measuring 93 717 square metres, to the Namibia Football Association (NFA).
The donated land will be used for the construction of a sports facility that will serve as the football centre in the Kavango East region.
The decision was made in line with council resolution SCM 005/27/06/2024 by way of a private treaty.
The council called for public objection to the donation to be done on or before 30 October.
NFA spokesperson Isack Hamata welcomed the news.
“It is indeed true that NFA engaged the leadership of the Rundu Town Council to acquire land. The NFA is in the business of football business and naturally, the purpose of requesting the donation of land is to construct a sports facility,” he said.
According to Hamata, the facility will include a stadium and an office block to house the regional football administration and other football-related activities.
The construction of the facility will commence soon after the NFA secures funding from FIFA and local sources.
Hamata says the NFA aims for the stadium to meet FIFA standards, enabling it to host both local and international matches.
Over the years, the national soccer team has not been able to play home games for continental championships because of a lack of facilities that are up to standard.
Similarly, netball has been unable to host international matches due to the majority of its courts being outdoors and not meeting international standards.
“Right now, our national teams are playing outside the country. We would like to see a situation where we are spoilt for choice in terms of hosting international matches in Namibia, wherever we would have these sports facilities in place,” he said.
Although he believes it is uncommon for football associations to own stadiums, the high demand for facilities has prompted the NFA to consider doing so.
“This move will identify and develop talent that can improve sports locally and internationally,” he said.
This situation persists despite the government’s efforts to provide financial support to address the issue.
The government allocated N$50 million during the 2022–23 financial year to the upgrading and renovation of Independence Stadium to meet the requirements for hosting international football matches.
For the current financial year, the government allocated an additional N$37.5 million towards the project, while the medium-term expenditure framework for 2024/25 and 2025/26 committed an additional N$60 million and N$65 million, respectively.
However, such work has not yet yielded a positive result.
In July, Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said the country would need N$8 billion to construct standardised sports facilities in all constituencies.
In a plea to address the matter, Hamata says the NFA has not only engaged Rundu town but many other towns across the country as well.
“We are very happy that the leadership of Rundu Town Council buys into our vision of developing our towns, regions and the entire country through football,” he mentions.
He says sports contribute to the economic and social development of the country.
According to Hamata, the land is donated on a 99-year lease as required by FIFA.
“We are in the process of informing FIFA of this positive development from Rundu Town Council and we will go through all the processes to acquire the funding from FIFA through one of its development projects for member associations,” he said.
Kavango East governor, Bonifatius Wakudumo, said there is a need for proper and comprehensive sports facilities in the region.
“As a sportsman myself, we are not just talking about sports fields. We are talking about sports facilities that can provide different training to the talented men and women in different types of sports,” he says.
Wakudumo states such a sports facility meant a lot to the people of Kavango and Namibia at large.
Sports enthusiast Sikerete Matomba said many young people are inspired to initiate their hobbies in sports, but there are not enough facilities.
“You would find young people gathering at a very small place trying to gain the courage to participate in sports,” he said.
Matomba believes such an initiative will bring about a true definition of sports in the region.
