Time to rally behind Brave Warriors
A scathing and unwarranted attack launched on the persona and tribe of Itamunua Keimuine by some sections of the Brave Warrior’s supporters after his own goal gifted Morocco a 1-0 victory over Namibia in the opening game of Namibia’s Afcon campaign does not only tarnish the beautiful game but is social ill that should never be endorsed.
With Bafana Bafana who also succumbed to a 1-0 defeat against Ivory Coast desperate to secure three points against us in our ‘group of death’ encounter on Friday, it is time for us to dump tribal slurs and throw our full weight behind the Brave Warriors who despite losing their first encounter put up a stellar and trademark brave performance.
It is always common when selection for national teams is done that people have differences on who should make it into squad and who should not, but that should not turn anyone against a team carrying the hopes and aspirations of the nation.
Gaffer, Ricardo Mannetti can only select eleven players in his starting team and that should also give every passionate fan the realisation Namibia plays as a team and likewise loses as a unit.
Indeed, we are taken aback by the fact that in the previous game, Namibia had defended superbly but a free kick by Hakim Ziyech eluded the defence and caught Keimuine by surprise who headed the ball into his own net after trying to clear it.
What is important to take cognisance of is that, individual errors just like life, are a part of soccer and players like Keimuine always atone in other games for their mistakes and hence it is imperative that they are encouraged by fans and rather not, destroyed by selfish fans who are short sighted to see what has earned the player a national cap and what he can provide for the team in the future.
Friday’s game is a game which the Brave Warriors must either win or draw to stay in the race for a place in the next round of Africa’s biggest football competition. Winning, however, should be high on the Brave Warriors’ agenda and this golden generation of players has everything to prove following Cosafa success two years ago.
In all these permutations, there is one reality that the NFA cannot do it alone without the support of its fellow citizens and the entire football fraternity.
Consequently, by supporting the Brave Warriors, as citizens we will be doing our duty as patriotic Namibians united under one common cause.
It would, therefore, be good for the nation if all its sons and daughters bury the hatchet ensuing through tribal connotations and re-unite in defence of the nation’s pride and uplift the playing spirit of the Brave Warriors.
After all, we are all Namibians first before everything else!
This is the reason we will hug and ululate when our beloved Brave Warriors find the back of the net and that is also the same reason we will bow our heads in melancholy each time our beloved Warriors concede a goal.
This is the spirit that should prevail not only in this coming match with Bafana Bafana but ever after.
For our team in Egypt, all they need to know is that the hopes of the entire nation are on their shoulders thus they must put in extra effort to bring the result that we all expect.