Construction of Benjamin’s First Football School on ice

• By Michael Uugwanga

FORMER Brave Warriors captain and now coach, Collin Benjamin’s plans to construct a world class football facility at the Khomasdal Stadium’s B field has been put on hold for now after a group of families was housed in the area since outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020.In February 2020, the City of Windhoek and Benjamin announced the 30-year lease agreement, which will see Benjamin revamp the Khomasdal Stadium’s B Field into an N$50 million sports development facility for young people.

This is the second time the project is being put on ice due to diligence and process, ever since Benjamin application was approved in 2016.

City of Windhoek (CoW) Section Head for Corporate Communications, Lydia Amutenya told Confidente the City has no intention of evacuating the homeless people from the facility, despite lost time since the agreement between the CoW and Benjamin was officially announced in 2020.

She however said that the CoW was looking at other alternatives on where to resettle the homeless families.

“The council is fully aware, due to the unexpected outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, working hand in hand with the line ministry and other stakeholders, the venue was used to host the homeless residents that were roaming around in the city, in an effort to curb the spreading of the virus. The City is currently busy resolving the matter of relocating the families, and deliberations with external stakeholders are being finalised.

“It should be taken into consideration that the Covid-19 regulations and all other restrictions were only lifted this year 2022. Unfortunately, the Council could not evict the homeless in the middle of a pandemic,” Amutenya said.

Asked whether the lease agreement between the two parties (CoW and Benjamin) will be extended to a further three years, Amutenya said CoW would need to review the agreement but could not give a timeline as to when.

She also said that Benjamin was aware of the current situation at the B field.

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