Girls score at the coast

Otis Daniels

Walvis Bay

Although women’s soccer is popular and well-established in many countries, Namibia has lagged in the development of this sport, particularly at youth level.For some years now, Playtime Namibia has been growing a youth development programme that currently caters to girls under-11 to under-17.

As part of this programme, the organisation recently hosted a girls’ soccer tournament involving teams from Playtime and two from Otjiwarongo.

The tournament was a great success, with the Otjiwarongo first team walking away with the gold while the Playtime first and second teams bagged the silver and bronze medals.

Communications manager at Playtime Gareth Amos said: “We are delighted to have hosted the tournament and were particularly impressed with the high standards on display throughout the tournament.

“Overall, it was amazing to witness the skills on display throughout the weekend and, in particular, the fact that girls’ soccer is on the up and up nationwide”.

Critical sponsorship

Following the competition’s success, Playtime hopes to send its girls’ teams to Otjiwarongo for a second tournament sometime in the near future.

Amos thanked Caroline Gruhn from Lagoon Chalets, who sponsored accommodation for the 17 girls who participated, as well as the Walvis Bay Road Runners Club, who provided the teams with water bottles, tog bags and other sporting items.

“It is only through sponsorship from the local community that we are able to host these tournaments and our other youth development programmes continuously,” he said.

Developing youth through sports

A charitable trust based in Walvis Bay, Playtime Namibia has been developing the youth through sports since 2016.

Currently, more than 1 200 children participate in various sporting activities in Walvis Bay, including soccer, cricket and athletics. Playtime also provides physical training lessons for children in a number of Kuisemond schools.

While the organisation has a thriving soccer programme based in the town, its primary focus is on children from previously disadvantaged communities, and, as such, it conducts the majority of its programmes from The Hub in Kuisebmond - a top-end, modern facility that includes an artificial grass soccer pitch.

The trust continues to grow from strength to strength with ongoing assistance from sponsorships from local businesses in the private sector, Amos - who can be contacted at 081 129 2157 - said.