The German Football Association’s (DFB) General Secretary Heike Ulirich and Head of International Relations, Patrick Wolf paid a visit to the Namibia Football Association earlier today. The delegates were welcomed by the NFA General Secretary, Charles Siyauya and NFA’s Director of External Projects & International Relations, Salome Iiyambo.
Speaking to the media, Heike Ulirich emphasized on the strong relations between Namibia and German.
“There is a rich history between our two countries, and this easily fosters a strong connection between the Associations. In the past we had mutual connections through the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), who helped build the NFA Girls Centre and we want to continue with that relationship, today’s meeting focused on how DFB can help Namibian coaches and administrators, we touched base on bigger developments like grassroots initiatives and infrastructure, but the visit focused more on getting to know each other” she said.
Brave Warriors Head Coach Collin Benjamin who was a beneficiary of the DFB and NFA partnership highlighted the significance of the relationship between the two FA’s.
“This initiative spearheaded by both associations has achieved so much over the years, not only for players but for administrators as well. I played in Germany for twelve years and obtained my coaching badges there, former Brave Gladiators captain, Uerikondjera Kasaona was in Germany, she played, studied and did her coaching courses there. We have Vewe Kotjipati currently working and playing in Germany.
The Namibian Football fraternity has grown over the years and it’s time we started asking, how can we be of assistance to Germany? We are of the opinion that Namibia surely can be of assistance and value to Germany in ways that Germany as a 1st world country might be needing’’ uttered Benjamin
This partnership has seen the junior national teams play friendly games in Germany and attend World Cup games. The Girls Centre was built on this partnership and national coaches were trained in Germany. The Westfalen u17 team was recently in the country to play friendlies with the U17 national team.