Football in Namibia is governed by the

Namibia Football Association The Namibia Football Association (NFA) is the governing body of football in Namibia. It was founded in 1990, and affiliated to FIFA and to CAF in 1992. It organizes the national football league and the national team. Its aim is to create a footb ...

. The

Namibia Premier League The Namibia Premier League (NPL), also known as Debmarine Namibia Premiership is the highest level of domestic association football in Namibia. The league was established in 1990 and was trimmed to 12 teams from the traditional 16 in 2005. It was ...

is the main domestic league. The

Namibia national football team The Namibia national football team represents Namibia in men's international football and is controlled by the Namibia Football Association. They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup but have made three appearances in the Africa Cup of ...

has never qualified for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

, but has twice been runner up in the

COSAFA Cup The COSAFA Cup or COSAFA Senior Challenge Cup is an annual tournament for teams from Southern Africa organized by Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA), inaugurated after the ban against the Republic of South Africa had been ...

. They qualified for two Africa Cups of Nations, in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, being eliminated in the first round both times.

2008 Africa Cup of Nations

In September 2007, the national team qualified for just their second ever African Cup of Nations appearance, which took place in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. The Namibian squad was defeated 5-1 by

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

in their first game, 0-1 by host

in their 2nd and tied

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

one all and thus did not earn a spot in the quarterfinal round.

Notable Namibian footballers

Collin Benjamin Collin Benjamin (born 3 August 1978) is a Namibian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his professional career with Hamburger SV while representing Namibia at international level. Benjamin represented Na ...

Henrico Botes Henrico Botes (born 24 December 1979, in Rehoboth) is a former Namibian football striker. He played for Platinum Stars, Bidvest Wits and University of Pretoria F.C. in the South African Premier Soccer League and Namibia national team. He is ...

* Floris Diergaardt * Richard Gariseb * George Hummel * Laurence Kaapama * Rudi Louw *

Robert Nauseb Robert Cosmo Nauseb (born 23 August 1974 in Otjiwarongo) is a Namibian football midfielder who last played for Ikapa Sporting in South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmos ...

* Jamuovandu Ngatjizeko *

Ryan Nyambe Ryan Nyambe (born 4 December 1997) is a Namibian professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL Championship side Wigan Athletic. He previously played for Blackburn Rovers, making over 150 first team appearances for the club, and is a ...

* Sydney Plaatjies * Paulus Shipanga * Razundara Tjikuzu

References

{{Footy-stub

2008 Africa Cup of Nations

Notable Namibian footballers

See also

References