Tafel Lager Brave Warriors ready to make nation proud at 2024 AFCON
By Adolf Kaure.
The Namibian national senior men’s soccer team, known as the Tafel Lager Brave Warriors are ready to do battle at the Total African Cup of Nations (AFCON) which kicks off in Ivory Coast this month.
The Tafel Lager Brave Warriors recently drew 0-0 against four-time African Champions and 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter finalists Ghana in a pre-tournament friendly held in Kumasi, Ghana.
According the the Namibia national team head coach, Colin Benjamin, his aim for the tournament is for his team to do better than in previous tournaments.
“I think we had a good test against a very good team. It is a physical team and very technical, with a lot of individual brilliance. Equally, I say my team had a very good game. They did it as a collective with a lot of energy, enthusiasm, conviction and I am proud of the team.”
“We want to do better than what we did last time. We want to make our nation proud. We don’t only play for ourselves.”
“We play because we are Brave Warriors. Nobody gives us chances, we take the chances,” said Benjamin during the post-match interview.
It will be Namibia’s fourth participation at the AFCON, having also taken part at the 1998, 2008 and 2019 editions in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Egypt, respectively. The Brave Warriors have not yet clinched a match at any AFCON and hope to get out of the group stages for the first time in their history.
At the 2019 AFCON tournament, Namibia lost all their matches, beaten by Morocco (1-0), South Africa (1-0) and Ivory Coast (4-1). However, during the qualifiers, the team showed that they are capable of competing against the top ranked sides defeating five-time AFCON champions Cameroon 1-0.
Namibia have been placed in group C with Tunisia, Mali and South Africa. Their first match in Ivory Coast is against Tunisia on 16 January.
Meanwhile, MultiChoice announced that SuperSport will broadcast all 52 AFCON matches live from 13 January to 11 February after securing the broadcast rights for the continent.
