The force that is goalie Narises
By Michael Uugwanga
THE future is bright for women’s football in Namibia when looking at the outstanding talent of players in the Namibia Football Association (NFA) Women Super Cup this season and one such player of note is V-Power Ladies goalkeeper Gwenneth Narises.
Narises has been in superb form for her club in the Super Cup after helping her side reach the semifinals.
However the semifinals did not end well for her side that suffered an 11-0 loss on aggregate to Tura Magic Ladies.
Her V-Power Ladies side lost 3-0 in the first leg tie on February 13, before a 8-0 defeat on February 20 in the Super Cup at the NFA Technical Centre.
Born 25 years ago in Grootfontein, Narises is the daughter of David Mungunda, a former midfield maestro for Grootfontein-based club Chelsea, and Maria Narises, a former player for Chelsea netball club.
“I started playing football in 2007 in the dusty streets of Grootfontein with my neighbours. It is a great feeling to be part of a fantastic team such as V-Power with the never giving up spirit in the team.
“My parents have always been supportive since both were athletes with my father being a former footballer and my mother a former netball player and I am just following in their footsteps.
“Ronaldhino is and will always be my number favourite footballer of all-time because of his tactics and playfulness as you will never see him playing without a smile on his face both on and off the field,” said Narises.
If she continues to perform well for her club it will just be a matter of time before she is called-up to the women senior side, the Brave Gladiators.
Besides playing football, Narises is currently doing an au pair programme that helps anyone in the programme to move abroad and become a nanny, like Brave Gladiators player Veweziwa Kotjipati, who is now playing professional football in Germany for VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach.
“Some girls dream of wearing high heels and colourful dresses while I dream of wearing my soccer boots and national colours. I am more than good enough to play for the national team,” said Narises.