• Sport

Team sports face Youth Games exclusion

• 12 Hours Ago

The Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) has asked for more time to explain its decision to cancel the National Youth Games trials and exclude team sports from participating at the Region Five Youth Games.

NSC chief administrator Freddy Mwiya said the commission is actively discussing the matter, with meetings held last week.

“We will only be able to give feedback [on the matter] after we’re done because there’s a lot of engagement happening,” he said.

Mwiya said the NSC can only report at this stage that it has been instructed by sports minister Dr Sanet Steenkamp to hold engagements and inform sporting bodies and the nation of the final decision.

Asked whether sports federations are part of the engagements, Mwiya said: “[Only] the NSC board and the sports ministry are part of the engagements. We will give the federations and the nation feedback once we’re done.”

He said the feedback is expected later this week.

Earlier this month, the NSC facilitated the hosting of the National Youth Games trials for basketball and volleyball in Ondangwa.

The Games also served as trials to select teams to represent Namibia at the Region Five Youth Games in Maputo, Mozambique, in December.

‘Decision not taken lightly’

A day after the Ondangwa trials concluded, the NSC issued a statement on 13 May confirming that the second phase of the National Youth Games trials for football, boxing and netball, which had been scheduled for later that week, had been cancelled.

The statement, seen by Sport Wrap, said the trials were called off due to unforeseen circumstances, with the NSC apologising to affected athletes, coaches, officials, parents and stakeholders.

“We understand the importance of these trials in identifying and nurturing young sporting talent, and the decision to cancel was not taken lightly,” the statement read.

The statement, however, did not indicate whether the trials would be rescheduled.

Earlier reports by this publication indicated that when Sport Wrap asked Mwiya whether the trials would be rescheduled, he said the NSC would update affected federations.

“We apologise, as this is beyond our operational mandate,” said Mwiya.

Sources connected to affected federations say sporting bodies received letters from the NSC noting ongoing consultations and budgetary considerations related to the country’s preparations for the Region Five Youth Games.

Funding squeeze hits team sports

In the letters, the NSC indicated that available resources cannot cater for team sports at the continental showpiece.

Sources say this is due to the commission’s budget reductions and financial limitations, which led it to prioritise individual sport codes to ensure effective preparation, participation and overall management of available resources.

Sources close to the sports ministry told Sport Wrap that when Namibia participated in the Region Five Youth Games in Malawi in 2022, government allocated an estimated budget of N$8.1 million.

When Namibia hosted the Games last year in Windhoek and Swakopmund, government allocated N$127 million for the event, of which N$21 million was for Team Namibia in the 2025-26 budget.

However, in this year’s 2026-27 budget, tabled on 10 April, only N$3 million was allocated to the National Youth Games trials and the Region Five Youth Games.

Sport Wrap understands that the commission had initially budgeted N$17 million to take a full Team Namibia contingent to the Games in Maputo.

However, when the commission presented the budget to the sports ministry, it was reduced to N$3 million, with the ministry citing reduced funding allocation in the current financial year.

Hopes to secure more funding

Sources close to the commission said it chose to proceed with the national trials despite the allocation shortfall, hoping to secure additional funding at a later stage, as had happened in the past.

“They wanted to utilise the N$3 million to select Team Namibia for Mozambique and target the mid-term budget review to go back to the ministry and show those results in the hope of getting more funding for that team to the Games,” sources told Sport Wrap.

Those hopes faded when the sports ministry informed the commission that the N$3 million was the only available funding for the Youth Games initiative, and that no additional allocation would be made through the mid-term budget review.

Sport Wrap understands that this led to the abrupt cancellation of the national trials and the removal of team events from Namibia’s participation plans for the Youth Games in Mozambique.

Sources say the commission is now re-strategising to determine how best to send athletes using the available funds.

Speaking anonymously on the matter, a sports administrator urged federations to consider the commission’s position.

“It was not an easy decision to reach from the commission’s side. As a sports administrator who loves sport and someone who demands organised sport, you cannot just wake up and cancel without reason.

“You have to consider the mental well-being of the young athletes as much as you do the resources and the time the federations put into making the work happen.

“Yes, we understand the timing was a bit off. The trials could have been cancelled earlier. Now, we should stick together and find a way to navigate these stormy waters,” said the administrator.

Federations allege unfair exclusion

The affected sporting bodies have, however, frowned upon the unilateral exclusion of team sports from the Youth Games in Mozambique and have issued protest letters to the NSC and the sports ministry.

Volleyball and basketball had already selected national teams, with volleyball having already announced the names of players set to compete at the Region Five Youth Games.

The affected federations have lamented the decision to exclude team sports, saying it caused professional prejudice to athletes and administrators.

“While we acknowledge the reality of fiscal constraints, we cannot accept a resolution that lacks transparency, unfairly discriminates against team athletes and bypasses the fundamental principle of administrative justice,” one federation said.

They believe financial limitations should be managed through equitable distribution rather than the total exclusion of specific disciplines.

“As primary stakeholders, we were not afforded meaningful opportunities to provide input or propose cost-sharing alternatives.”

Sports bodies believe the decision to exclude teams amounts to an abuse of administrative authority and an infringement of the Namibian Constitution and the Namibia Sports Act 12 of 2003.

“The administrative justice Article 18 states that administrative bodies must act fairly and reasonably and comply with the requirements of common law.

“A decision to exclude hundreds of athletes without prior stakeholder engagement or a clear, published matrix fails the test of reasonableness.

“The non-discrimination Article 10 states that the Constitution prohibits discrimination based on status. Excluding team sports inherently discriminates against athletes who excel in collective disciplines, effectively punishing them for their chosen sport code.”

Opportunities may never return

Federations believe the cancellation requires urgent reconsideration and national dialogue, arguing that the impact extends beyond a single event.

“The impact affects the future of sport development in Namibia and the aspirations of thousands of young athletes.

“Sport has consistently been recognised as a strategic national priority and remains one of the key pillars in government development objectives.

“Public statements and national policy discussions have repeatedly emphasised sport as a vehicle for youth empowerment, among others.

“Decisions that halt or limit developmental structures directly contradict these objectives and weaken the systems intended to build sport from grassroots development.”

Federations also raised the time-sensitive nature of youth sport opportunities, noting that a missed cycle cannot simply be replaced the following year.

“Youth sport development follows age categories. Opportunities lost today may never return,” they said.

– mariud@nsh.com.na