Namibia earn double fifth-place finishes in Switzerland

Fistball
U18 men and women’s national team impress against strong international opposition
Brian Munango
  • 12 Hours Ago

Namibia’s U18 men finished fifth at the U18 World Championship, matching the country’s previous best result in the competition.

Germany won the title ahead of Austria, Brazil and hosts Switzerland, while Namibia finished above Chile and New Zealand.

The young Namibians suffered defeats against Germany, Austria and Brazil, as well as a 3-1 loss to Switzerland.

They responded strongly, however, winning both matches against Chile 3-1 and recording convincing 3-0 victories over New Zealand to secure fifth place.

Women edge closer to breakthrough

The women’s national team also finished fifth at the Women’s European Championship after receiving special permission to compete despite Namibia not being a European nation.

Germany claimed the European title, followed by Austria, Switzerland and Serbia.

Namibia came close to reaching the semi-finals after defeating Serbia 3-2 in their first meeting. However, Serbia won the decisive rematch by the same scoreline, narrowly ending Namibia’s hopes of reaching the final four.

Despite missing out on the semi-finals, the performance highlighted Namibia’s ability to compete against established European nations.

The two fifth-place finishes provide valuable international experience as Namibia continues to develop its fistball programme.