Key points drawn from coverage. Tap a point to see the original sentence.
April 2026
New Era
Namibia Sports Commissionadoptedclustered competition model to select Team Namibia
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“To select the team within the available budget, the commission has adopted a clustered competition model that reduces large-scale centralised hosting while maintaining a fair and transparent process.”
Namibia Sports Commissionselected the team duringmarginalised community games last year
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“Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) chief administrator Freddy Mwiya, during a press conference on the 2026 National Youth Games on Thursday, said the team was selected during marginalised community games last year.”
Namibia Sports Commissionintroduced inclusivity in sport duringRegion 5 Youth Games in Windhoek
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“Mwiya says Namibia introduced inclusivity in sport during the Region 5 Youth Games held in Windhoek, to which Special Olympics athletes were invited.”
Namibia Sports Commissionsupportsthe National Boxing Championship in Keetmanshoop
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“The championship is supported by the Namibia Sports Commission, the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service, and the Namibia National Olympic Committee (NNOC).”
Namibia Sports Commissionprovidedtransport to the teams
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“We were very fortunate and thankful to the Namibia Sports Commission and our Ministry of Education, Innovation, Sport, Arts and Culture, who provided transport to the teams.”
Namibia Sports Commissionis being registered with bythe NPPL for regulation compliance
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“The NPPL is currently in the process of registering with the Namibia Sports Commission to ensure all regulations are met, proper structures are in place, and everything is formalised ahead of the league's continued growth.”
Namibia Sports Commissionis hostingthe ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup at FNB Namibia Cricket Stadium
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“The ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup starts today at the FNB Namibia Cricket Stadium. The opening match sees Tanzania take on the West Indies, hosted by Cricket Namibia and the Namibia Sports Commission.”
Namibia Sports Commissionhas learnedvaluable lessons from 2025, particularly the importance of advance preparation
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“Mwiya said that the Commission has learned valuable lessons from 2025, particularly the importance of advance preparation, especially for international competitions and Team Namibia programmes.”
Namibia Sports Commissionwill be implementinga new organisational structure this year to enhance efficiency
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“He added that the NSC will be implementing a new organisational structure this year, which is expected to enhance efficiency and strengthen delivery across all areas of its mandate.”
Gold medalist Ananias Shikongo was disqualified from the Commonwealth Games after Namibia's Paralympic committee failed to secure a valid competition licence for him amid an internal leadership dispute. No Namibian Paralympic athlete has been licensed since 1 January, following the committee's failure to pay fees to the International Paralympic Committee and resolve internal disputes over athlete registration.
Gold medalist Ananias Shikongo was disqualified from the Commonwealth Games after Namibia's Paralympic committee failed to secure a valid competition licence for him amid an internal leadership dispute. No Namibian Paralympic athlete has been licensed since 1 January, following the committee's failure to pay fees to the International Paralympic Committee and resolve internal disputes over athlete registration.
The Namibia national darts team of 18 players across senior, youth, and veterans' categories was officially dispatched by the Namibia Sports Commission ahead of the AUSC Region 5 Championships in Gaborone, Botswana, from 24 to 29 August 2026. Acting darts president Susan Blaauw cited past strong regional performances, including a third-place finish two years ago and a U/18 boys' first-place result last year, as confidence for another competitive showing.
The Namibia National Olympic Committee has outlined a plan to identify and develop athletes with Olympic potential, targeting at least 15 athletes for the next Olympics. The NNOC will support strategic national federations and expand talent identification efforts in partnership with the Namibia Sports Commission and Ministry of Education.
Hillary Imbuwa has been appointed as an International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB) sport management and administration expert. He says the role allows him to share knowledge from international experiences with southern African federations while bringing regional perspectives to the global volleyball community.
Deputy sport minister Dino Ballotti commended Namibia's 23-member team for their performance at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where the country finished 29th overall and second in southern Africa. Ballotti said the medal haul could have been greater with more athletes competing and pledged preparations for future international events including the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Team Namibia received a heroes' welcome at Hosea Kutako International Airport after the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, where the country won three boxing medals: Tryagain Morning Ndevelo took silver, and Mischa Monique Araes and Philip Pumulo Mutakela Haoseb each claimed bronze. The three medal-winning boxers received cash rewards totalling N$195 000.
Newly-appointed Africa Chess Federation secretary general Otto Nakapunda says he is ready for the new challenge and that work has already begun to transform the organisation, including setting up a head office in Ethiopia. The Namibia Sports Commission congratulated Nakapunda and Hillary Imbuwa, who was appointed as a sport management and administration expert for the International Volleyball Federation.
Namibia's U/20 rugby squad, who won last year's Rugby Africa U/20 Barthés Trophy, has been officially sent off by the Namibia Sports Commission ahead of the continental tournament in Uganda from 7 to 15 August 2026, where they will aim to retain the title and keep alive hopes of reaching the World Rugby U/20 Trophy.
Namibian boxer Hesron Kapanga Tryagain Morning Ndevelo secured a silver medal after losing to India's Sachin in the men's 60kg final at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. Teammates Mischa Monique Araes and Philip !Haoseb also earned bronze medals in their weight divisions.
The Namibia Sports Commission announced the interim appointment of Alfeus Archie Benjamin as Chairperson of its Board from July 2026 to 31 December 2026, following the expiry of five Board members' terms that left the Board below quorum threshold. The appointment was made by the Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture under the Public Enterprises Governance Act, with Benjamin bringing experience as Chief Executive Officer of the Municipality of Swakopmund.
The Namibia Women in Sports Association and Namibia Sports Commission launched a train-the-trainer programme in Ongwediva to increase women's representation and influence in sport governance across the country. The five-day initiative, running until 2 August, aims to empower women trainers to cascade knowledge to their regional and community structures.
The Namibia Football Association has formally proposed amendments to the Sports Act and the establishment of a dedicated national sports levy of N$5 from employees and employers monthly, arguing that current legislation no longer adequately supports the governance and sustainability of sport in Namibia and that the levy would provide sustainable funding to reduce reliance on government grants.
Experts at a Namibia Institute of Corporate Governance forum argued that stronger leadership, transparency and accountability—rather than funding alone—are essential to fixing Namibian sport. Governance challenges facing the country's sport federations include failure to submit audited financial statements and complex accountability to multiple stakeholders.
The government distributed N$774 000 to athletes and coaches for medal-winning performances in the first quarter of 2026 across athletics, wrestling, full contact, inline hockey and Special Olympics Namibia. The Namibia Sports Commission said rewards are distributed under a Cabinet-approved 2018 policy based on defined criteria, replacing an ad hoc system that existed before 2018.
The Namibia Sports Commission held a reward ceremony recognizing athletes who won medals at international sporting events, distributing N$774,000 to Athletics Namibia, the Namibia Wrestling Federation, the Namibia Full-contact Martial Arts Federation and the Namibia Inline Hockey Federation in accordance with the 2018 NSC Reward Policy.
The Namibia Sports Commission has awarded a combined N$774,000 to five national sports federations in recognition of medal-winning performances by Namibian athletes at African and international competitions in the first quarter of 2026. The beneficiaries are Athletics Namibia, the Namibia Wrestling Federation, Namibia Full Contact Martial Arts, Namibia Inline Hockey and Special Olympics Namibia, with individual athletes receiving up to N$40,000 depending on medal type.
The 22nd Namibia Annual Sports Awards was launched with a revised framework grouping awards into Performance Excellence and Special Commendation categories. Key changes include Sport Star of the Year becoming an automatically awarded title for the highest-scoring finalist, and mergers of Federation/Community Inspiration and media awards into single categories.
The Namibia Sports Commission launched the 2026 edition of the annual sports awards with restructured categories, a new nomination process, and achievements from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026 to be considered. Key changes include grouping awards into Performance Excellence and Special Commendation categories, automatically awarding Sport Star of the Year to the highest-scoring finalist, and merging several award categories.
The Namibia Sports Commission faces uncertainty after four commissioners' contracts expired on 30 June, creating questions about the legality of the board's authority and control of banking systems. The remaining five active board members, whose terms expire in December, now lead the commission while authorities await clarification on new appointments.
Namibia's sport bodies have condemned the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture's decision to suspend all financial support to recognised sport federations and umbrella organisations, calling it a serious setback that threatens athlete development, competitions and employment. The suspension came after the ministry cited mounting financial constraints in a letter dated 15 June, despite having set aside approximately N$13.5 million for sport development programmes in April.
An additional N$50 million earmarked in the national budget could lift Namibia's sports investment to N$68.5 million this year, with funding directed towards elite athlete development, international competition preparation, and the Podium Performance Programme targeting the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Namibia's national rowing team has departed for South Africa to compete in the Coastal Rowing Sprints Championship for the first time, with a six-member squad competing in single, double and mixed events in Cape Town from 27 to 28 June 2026. The competition marks a historic milestone for the sport in the country and opens a pathway towards future Olympic qualification.
Namibia's Jerome Rooi won bronze in the para-triathlon standing category at the World Triathlon Para Cup in Besancon, France, while teammate Mateus Angula finished seventh in the para-triathlon wheelchair category.
Rebbeka Goagoses, former president of Netball Namibia and acting president of Netball Africa, has been appointed to the World Netball board. The Namibia Sports Commission and Netball Namibia hailed the appointment as a significant achievement for Namibian sport and governance.
Outjo councillor Laurence Kandundu has resigned from the Namibia Football Association executive committee following a Namibia Sports Commission directive about Sport Act compliance, which prohibits local authority councillors from serving on sport federation executive committees.
The Race Wars drag-racing event between South Africa and Namibia drew a larger-than-expected crowd to the Tony Rust Race Track near Windhoek, with 65 car and motorcycle entries competing and organizers noting strong local and cross-border interest.
The Namibia Sports Commission has appointed an interim committee to oversee the Namibia Traditional Sport and Games Federation, tasked with stabilising federation affairs, implementing an official playbook, and organising an elective congress within 12 months. The committee will also promote, coordinate and administer indigenous games nationwide and establish regional structures.
The Namibia Sports Commission and Emeraldsand Platforms are organizing the country's first Creative Sport Tourism Expo, scheduled for September 2–4 at Dr Hage Geingob Stadium, aimed at leveraging sport, creativity and tourism to drive economic growth and showcase Namibian talent. The event is expected to attract over 18,000 visitors and 3,000 competing athletes.
Namibia and Botswana held a high-level bilateral engagement between their sports commissions in Gaborone to review progress under a 2021 Memorandum of Understanding and map a stronger path for regional sport development. The partnership has yielded results in athlete support, high-performance preparation, sport governance and regional cooperation through athlete exchanges, joint training camps, and event hosting.
A national swim team supported by the Namibia Podium Performance Programme has been sent to the 17th African Swimming Championships in Oran, Algeria, from 5 to 10 May, featuring eleven swimmers alongside a coach and team manager. The championships are expected to attract over 400 swimmers from 41 countries, and will introduce a new inter-zonal event where selected athletes represent Africa's four aquatic zones.