CAF players fit and safe

With the dawn of action upon us, the medical committee of the 2014 TN Mobile CAF Women Championship promises a medically fit and safe continental women championship as far as Ebola and player’s specific medical assessment is concerned.
The ninth edition of the continental women football championship kicks off on Saturday at 17h00 with Namibia taking on Zambia at the Sam Nujoma stadium.
According to the chairlady of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Medical Sub Committee Donata Ngunovandu, all teams that  have arrived in Namibia for the championship were screened for Ebola upon arrival at the Hosea Kutako International Airport and at the team’s accommodation place, Safari Hotel.
“We are on high alert for this and we have set up a Polyclinic at the Hotel as well as medical rooms at the two stadiums and well equipped ambulances to ensure that when the delegates arrive for the championship they are properly screened for Ebola so that we can safeguard the integrity of the competition and keep Namibia safe as well,” said Ngunovandu.
So Far, Algeria, Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon and the High-powered Confederation of African Football (CAF) have arrived in Namibia and Ngunovandu stressed that the remaining teams Zambia and Nigeria will also be subjected to the screening.

“We all know the cases of Ebola in Nigeria and the Nigerians are coming and they will be screened as well. We are confident everything will go well and we are monitoring the situation for any eventualities” explained Ngunovandu.
Ngunovandu who is also the Chief Medic for the Brave Gladiators revealed that all players have indeed been subjected to the newly introduced pre-competition medical assessment (pcma) to determine their fitness levels and to screen for any other related illness that can lead to players collapsing during play.
“ Namibia is very hot during this time of the year and the heat can take its toll on the players but the pcma done on the players thus far shows pleasing results and we will keep on reassessing to ensure that we eliminate some incidences that can be avoided on the field or during training sessions,” Ngunovandu said.
The pre-tournament medical assessment is an important method to screen athletes for health risks prior to their participation in sport. Medical history, physical characteristics and pathological findings might substantially influence the risk of future injuries as well as other health risks associated with active sport participation including sudden cardiac death, according to FIFA.