The Fifth Namibia Sports Expo launched
• BY ADOLF KAURE
Namibia Sports Commission chief administrator Freddy Mwiya said that the Namibia sports expo will provide planning and dialogues to increase the number of athletes representing Namibia at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
“We will be presenting a document that will allow us to present a new podium performance programme for the next four years, going to Los Angeles.
“So that we can have those few elite athletes that will be identified from various codes that they will be able to be prepared for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. So that those federations can be able to see where we are going because we don’t look back, we look forward,” he said.
Cyclist Vera Looser and Alex Miller, open water swimmer Phillip Seidler, and marathon runner Helalia Johannes are the four athletes who qualified for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games. This is seven less than the eleven who qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Mwiya highlighted that despite only having four athletes represent the country at the Olympic Games, a forward-looking approach is needed to provide a solution in future.
“If we look at 1992, 1996, 2000 and so on, we had better numbers. Yes, we have to go back to the drawing board by coming up with some kind of initiatives. We need to have a conference and we need to have discussions to look at what went wrong, and we really need to be honest. Two weeks ago, I had a meeting with the minister, the deputy minister and the executive director of sport, the chairperson from the Namibia Sports Commission,” he added.
The chief administrator said that the fifth instalment of the Namibia Sports Expo will be the biggest.
“I am so excited with the support that I have received from the current board that we remained with this strong partnership. We look forward come October that our federations, it will be an opportunity for all of us to come together and network. It gives an opportunity for us to learn best practice for all the sports codes from one another through the conference,” he said.
The Namibia Sports Expo came out of a Cabinet decision. Then, Sports Minister Erastus Uutoni presented his document to the Cabinet after the table of the Namibia Sports Commission crafted the document.
“After we realised that we cannot work in silos, there was a need for us to have a public-private partnership with other stakeholders. After a meeting with the MTC Dome, a collaboration was signed with the Namibia Sports Commission.
“Me and my brother (MTC Dome CEO – Fanus Engelbrecht), have discussed matters of this nature of having elite athletes prepared in all various sports codes. We know that it is not only for the Olympic Games. Some athletes go and compete in the World Championships, others in the African Games and some within their confederation. So, we are talking this holistic approach. After the first and second edition under the partnership with the MTC Dome in 2022 and 2023 respectively, the event has been a success.”
The Namibia Sports Expo comprises various sports platforms, such as conferences, exhibitions, and stalls for multiple sports federations. This year’s Sports Expo will be held at Swakopmund’s MTC Dome from 17 to 18 October.