Unlocking our sporting potential

Opinion
  • 19 Hours Ago
Am just saying, for too long, sport in Namibia has been relegated to the sidelines, viewed primarily as a pastime rather than a powerhouse for national progress.

It is time for a fundamental shift in perspective.

Am just saying, to truly unlock our nation's vast sporting potential, we must stop seeing it as mere recreation and start recognizing it as an engine for social development, economic growth, and global branding.

Am saying, for this to be realised it requires a deliberate, multi-faceted strategy that builds from the grassroots.

Am just saying, the journey begins with a revolution at the grassroots level, where we must integrate quality physical education into every school, and the IPESS provides a framework for this.

Am saying, physical education teachers or coaches in school, should be employed as full time trainers to focus on sports, as opposed to the current setup, where teachers double up as sports practitioners, and are expected to volunteer as opposed to being compensated for the work they do within sports.

Am just saying, lets equip our communities with multi-sport hubs, and launch inclusive "Sport for All" programs to ensure every child, regardless of gender or ability, have the chance to play any sports, anywhere in the country, under the guidance of trained personnel both coaches and sports medics. Let Inservice paramedics, dietician, physical trainers, etc be attached to schools to support school sports.

Am saying this will lay the foundation for our sports pipeline that will feed our future talent.

Am just saying, working with the various federation, we must engage and put in place a clear talent identification pathway that identifies promising athletes and nurtures them with modern coaching, sports science, and a logical competition structure from school leagues to national championships.

Am saying, you need to make a deliberate investment that is managed by transparent and accountable leadership, which will provide a business plan and a commitment to professionalizing all the facets of our sports education.

Am just saying, you can not have athletes, the technical staff and no functional infrastructure; we need to build and, just as importantly, have the required skilled human capital to maintain multi-purpose facilities across the nation, leveraging partnerships with the private sector to ensure our athletes have the playing fields they need to become world-beaters.

We must embrace the business of sport, to ensure sustainable flow of resource.

Am just saying, we need to commercialize our unique offerings, marketing Namibia as the global capital for endurance and adventure sports, from desert ultra-marathons to epic cycling races. Working with the tourism sector, we can only achieve even more.

Am saying, there is an opportunity to develop our sports media and create an attractive public-private partnerships, we can turn our athletic passion into a viable industry. We need visionary and understanding leadership to achieve this.

Am just saying, a clear national sports policy, coupled with mandated transparency and accountability within all sports federations, is the non-negotiable framework that binds this entire ecosystem together.

Am saying, a lot has been said about other countries sporting landscape, we should craft our own identity and not try to be another South Africa or Kenya.

Our brand of sport should be as unique as our landscape, forging champions in endurance, adventure, and niche sports like rugby 7s and boxing where we can truly excel.

Am just saying we are intentionally building a virtuous cycle, where grassroots participation feeds a talent pipeline that produces heroes who inspire the nation and attract investment, we will do more than just win medals. We become a healthier, more unified, and economically vibrant Namibia.

Am just saying.