By: Annakleta Haikera

The affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement chairperson in the Kavango East region Gellasius Kandunda has called on coaches in the region to give u20 soccer players a fair opportunity.

This comes as last week the Namibia Football Association (NFA) through its u20 coach national team released a list of for u20 provisional national team consisting of 40 players selected during The Namibian Newspaper Cup recently held in Oshakati.

Kandunda, while speaking to The Villager, said NFA should be reminded that the Kavango East region was runner-up in the tournament and walked away with the second place accolade.

“The interim regional activists council of the Kavango East expected fairness from the selected teams and considering of high regards for the young talented players who represented Kavango East,” he said.

He added that he was surprised that the national team selected two players from the Kavango east out of the 40 players who were included in the list of the provisional team.

In this light, the interim regional activists’ council of Kavango East concluded that the decision by the u20 national coach and his technical team was discriminatory.

“It was too tribalism and full of favoritism and it is with the above in mind that we are asking your respected office to cancel the trials for 6 September and restart the entire process fairly to lead by an independent panel of scouts,” he stressed.

Kandunda said the movement’s leadership in the region is giving NFA until 8 September to take necessary steps to mitigate the disheartening experience.

“Failure to do so we will climb on the next level that will have serious negative impacts on the already tarnished image of the NFA and Namibian football at large. The movement is further looking at your understanding and professionalism in providing practical,” he lamented.

The Namibian Football Association selected 11 players from Khomas Region, 2 players from the Kavango East, no players from the Kavango West, and only 4 players from the Zambezi regions.