Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Brave Gladiators have been dealt a major blow ahead of the Cosafa Women’s Championship after star player Zenatha Coleman pulled out of the team due to differences with the Namibia Football Association.
THE Brave Gladiators have been dealt a major blow ahead of the Cosafa Women’s Championship after star player Zenatha Coleman pulled out of the team due to differences with the Namibia Football Association.
The tournament is due to start at the Nelson Mandel Stadium in Gqeberha on Wednesday, but the Gladiators will now have to do without their star player after Coleman announced on her Facebook page that she had decided to withdraw from the team due to the perceived ineptitude of the NFA.
“It’s always an honour to represent my beloved country – two years ago I flew in from Spain arriving on the day of the match. I waited for four hours to be picked up by the organisers from the NFA at the Hosea Kutako International Airport. I arrived three hours prior to kick-off at the hotel, ate my lunch, with no rest, went to the field, and scored two goals against Angola in a friendly match,” she said.
“But today with great sadness I’ve decided to withdraw from the Cosafa squad due to an issue of my ticket arriving late and having to wait eight hours in an airport. I wish the team and the coaches all the best in the upcoming Cosafa tournament,” she added.
The secretary general of the NFA Jochen Traut, however, said they had issued her a ticket well in advance and that the delay was due to an in-transit connecting flight from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth which was out of their hands.
He also referred The Namibian to a Whatssap message that he had received from the team’s manager, Maria Kasheeta.
“The background is that we all have to wait at the airport in Johannesburg for eight hours. This was explained to Zenatha and this is also after she received her allowance. Apparently she is not willing to board the flight if her ticket is not changed,” she said.
“The coach (Paulus Shipanga) has informed her after she posted this that he is extremely disappointed and will not force her to play,” she added.
Namibia will kick off their campaign against Zambia on Thursday, with two more group matches scheduled against Eswatini on 4 September and Lesotho on 6 September, before the knockout stages begin on 9 September.
The tournament is due to start at the Nelson Mandel Stadium in Gqeberha on Wednesday, but the Gladiators will now have to do without their star player after Coleman announced on her Facebook page that she had decided to withdraw from the team due to the perceived ineptitude of the NFA.
“It’s always an honour to represent my beloved country – two years ago I flew in from Spain arriving on the day of the match. I waited for four hours to be picked up by the organisers from the NFA at the Hosea Kutako International Airport. I arrived three hours prior to kick-off at the hotel, ate my lunch, with no rest, went to the field, and scored two goals against Angola in a friendly match,” she said.
“But today with great sadness I’ve decided to withdraw from the Cosafa squad due to an issue of my ticket arriving late and having to wait eight hours in an airport. I wish the team and the coaches all the best in the upcoming Cosafa tournament,” she added.
The secretary general of the NFA Jochen Traut, however, said they had issued her a ticket well in advance and that the delay was due to an in-transit connecting flight from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth which was out of their hands.
He also referred The Namibian to a Whatssap message that he had received from the team’s manager, Maria Kasheeta.
“The background is that we all have to wait at the airport in Johannesburg for eight hours. This was explained to Zenatha and this is also after she received her allowance. Apparently she is not willing to board the flight if her ticket is not changed,” she said.
“The coach (Paulus Shipanga) has informed her after she posted this that he is extremely disappointed and will not force her to play,” she added.
Namibia will kick off their campaign against Zambia on Thursday, with two more group matches scheduled against Eswatini on 4 September and Lesotho on 6 September, before the knockout stages begin on 9 September.
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