Nineteen-year-old fraternal twins Rashid and Shahid Naobeb are making a name for themselves at the ongoing TotalEnergies U20 AFCON | COSAFA Qualifiers, as the Young Warriors continue their campaign in Mozambique.
Born in the coastal town of Swakopmund, the twins started playing football at the age of eight before gradually making their way into academy football. Their journey began at Teenager Academy, owned by former Brave Warriors player and teacher by profession Ali Majiedt, where they took their first steps towards pursuing football more seriously.
In 2023, the twins moved to Windhoek and were scouted into the Collin Benjamin Soccer Academy (CBS). The academy played an important role in balancing their football development with their education while they competed in the HOPSol Youth League.
The twins attended Jan Möhr Secondary School, with Rashid currently completing Grade 11, while Shahid has since progressed to university and is in his first year at the International University of Management (IUM), where he is studying Transport and Logistics.
The brothers currently turn out for Katutura-based outfit Bucs Buccaneers in the Namibia Premier Football League (NPFL), where they continue to develop their game while harbouring ambitions of taking their careers beyond Namibia.
For Rashid, those ambitions received an early glimpse of what could lie ahead when he had the opportunity to travel to Germany for a trial with 1. FC Nürnberg through CBS Academy.
“Last year, I had the opportunity to go for a trial at Nürnberg FC with CBS Academy. Nürnberg is a team currently competing in the German Second Bundesliga, and I was amazed by how professional everything was and how different the setup was there. That is the kind of environment and football I want to play in the near future,” Rashid said.
The talented winger is, however, keeping his feet firmly on the ground, with his immediate focus on his education and continuing to develop at Bucs Buccaneers FC.
“For now, the focus is completing school and giving it my best at Bucs, and maybe next year the puzzle will fall into place.”
Rashid has already made a significant contribution to the Young Warriors’ COSAFA campaign. He scored the decisive goal as Namibia defeated Mozambique 1-0 on home soil, helping the Young Warriors maintain their unbeaten start to the tournament and secure top spot in their group.
While Rashid operates primarily as a winger, his twin brother Shahid has a different role on the pitch. The taller of the two, Shahid is a central defender who brings a different dimension to the twins’ footballing partnership.
“We spend four years at CBS and the coaches there taught us that school and football can co-exist and that we always need something to fall back on incase football doesn’t work out, the focus is completing my University degree while simultaneously playing football but if the opportunity arises in the PSL or somewhere abroad, I will take it, I know I have more show to the world,the dream is always a European team. Shahid said
Despite playing in different positions, the brothers share the same dream: to establish themselves at the highest level possible and eventually earn an opportunity to play abroad.
