Sports Ministry gives Team Namibia N$5,2m for Paris Games 

• By Michael Uugwanga 

The Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service has given the Namibia National Olympic Committee (NNOC) a N$5 2 million budget for the Paris Summer Olympic Games, scheduled for July 26 to August 11, in France.

Namibia has never failed to skip the Olympic Games since 1992, which was also the country’s first participation in the games that were held in Barcelona, Spain, which saw legendary sprinter Frank Fredericks becoming the first non-disabled Namibian athlete to win medals for the country.

At the 1992 Games, Fredericks won two silver medals, in the 100m and 200m, respectively, before Christine Mboma became the first female athlete from the country to win a medal at the Olympic Games, with her silver medal in the 200m at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

This year, Namibia is expected to have fewer athletes in Paris after many potential athletes who were expected to qualify for the games failed to deliver at significant qualification events, notably the All-African Games, World Championship and the African Athletic Championship.

The notable absentees from the Summer Olympic Games in Paris are Christine Mboma, Beatrice Masilingi, boxers Jonas Junias Jonas and Try Again Ndeevelo, long-distance runner Thomas Reinhold and  Maike Diekmann(rowing).  At the last Olympic Games in Japan, an event that was rescheduled for 2021, Namibia had the likes of Mboma, Masilingi, Jonas, Diekmann, Helalia Johanness, Reinhold, Michelle Vorster, Alex Miller and Vera Looser.

The NNOC is yet to officially release the list of all the qualified athletes from Namibia for the Paris Games, including the officials.

Speaking to Confidente this week, when asked about the budget allocation towards preparations for the Games, Executive Director in the Ministry of Sport, Erastus Haitengela, confirmed that the line ministry had already channelled the money into the account of NNOC.

“Government has availed N$5, 2 million for both preparation and for actual participation in the Paris Games. Funds already transferred into the NNOC account. They (NNOC) wanted around N$9 million and after we went through their request, we could only get the cost around N$5 million which is truly needed to cover the games preparation and participation,” said Haitengela.

With the full names yet to be released, the team still needs to be sent off by the government, even though the Paris Games are just a few weeks away from starting. Helalia Johannes, Open Water swimmer Philip Seidler and mountain bike riders Vera Looser and Alex Miller are the few athletes officially confirmed as participants at the Games. “The sendoff date will be discussed this week at a meeting organised by the honourable Minister, Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) and the NNOC,” said Haitengela.