Namibia’s national football team: players, coach, world rankings, nickname

Namibia’s national football team: players, coach, world rankings, nickname

Lewis Injai
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:54 PM

In terms of international football, Namibia's national team is still relatively young. As they are nicknamed, the Brave Warriors have represented the South-West African nation on the international stage on several occasions. Read along to find out more information about Namibia’s national football team players, history, coach, and so much more.

Namibia’s national football team
Photo: canva.com (modified by author)
Source: UGC

Namibia is not only on the map for their beautiful landscapes of desserts. The Namibian football team has also pulled great attention to the country. The team has had their ups and downs since being founded in 1990 but is still considered one of the best.

Namibia's football team profile summary

  • Full name: Namibia National Football Team
  • Nickname: Brave Warriors
  • Founded: 1990
  • Colours: Red, white and blue
  • Governing body: (NFA) Namibia Football Association
  • Confederation: CAF
  • Sub-confederation: COSAFA
  • Head coach: Bobby Samaria
  • Captain: Petrus Shitembi
  • Most Caps: Denzil Haoseb
  • Top scorer: Rudolf Bester
  • FIFA ranking: 112 as of January 2022.
  • Stadium: Independence Stadium
  • FIFA code: NAM

Namibia's national team history

Namibia made its international debut in May 1989 with a 1-0 defeat to Angola. Back then, it was known as South West Africa. The team has never shown the proficiency to qualify for the FIFA world cup. However, it has appeared in the AFCON thrice (1998, 2008 and 2019) but got booted out during the group stages in all the cases.

Namibia’s national football team
Namibia’s Forward Manfred Starke (right) vies for the ball with South Africa’s Midfielder Bongani Zungu (left) During the 2019 AFCON group D match in Egypt. Photo: JAVIER SORIANO
Source: Getty Images

The team has met success in the COSAFA Cup tournament, becoming a runner-up twice in 1997 and 1999.

Who is Namibia’s National football captain?

Petrus Shitembi currently captains the team. Take a look at his profile below.

Petrus Shitembe's profile summary

  • Full name: Petrus Shitembi
  • Date of Birth: May 11 1992
  • Age: 29 years old (as of January 2022)
  • Place of birth: Rundu, Namibia
  • Nationality: Namibian
  • Height in feet: 5’ 10”
  • Height in centimetres: 179
  • Position: Attacking midfielder
  • Current team: Namibia, Saif Sporting Club
  • Number: 19

Who are the current team members?

Here is Namibia’s 29-man squad assembled for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualification matches.

Goalkeepers

  • Virgil Vries
  • Lloyd Kazapua
  • Ndisiro Kamaijanda
  • Calvin Spiegel
  • Mbemutjiua Mata

Defenders

  • Larry Horaeb
  • Riaan Hanamub
  • Charles Hambira
  • Ivan Kamberipa
  • Aprocius Petrus
  • Immanuel Heita
  • Ryan Nyambe
  • Lubeni Haukongo
  • Kennedy Amutenya
  • Riddick Gariseb

Midfielders

  • Denzil Haoseb
  • Deon Hotto
  • Willy Stephanus
  • Absalom Iimbondi
  • Dynamo Fredericks
  • Marcel Papama
  • Alfeus Handura
  • Wesley Katjiteo
  • Ambrosius Amseb
  • Wendell Rudath
  • Prins Tjiueza
Namibia’s national football team: Players, coach, world rankings, nickname.
Namibia’s goalkeeper Loydt Kazapua holds onto the ball during Cairo's 2019 AFCON Group D football match between South Africa and Namibia. Photo: JAVIER SORIANO
Source: Getty Images

Forwards

  • Peter Shalulile
  • Elmo Kambindu
  • Joslin Kamatuka

Who is Namibia's highest goal scorer ever?

Becoming the best goal scorer takes almost a lifetime of experience of perfecting skills. Christiano Ronaldo is still seen as the best ever with over 760 goals.

Namibia’s national football team: Players, coach, world rankings, nickname.
Rudolf Bester(in Black) and Sebastien Bassong in action during the 2011 Vodacom Challenge final match at Coca Cola Stadium on July 23, 2011, in Johannesburg South Africa. Photo: Lefty Shivambu
Source: Getty Images

Namibia has their share of highest goal scorers. The former Brave Warriors striker Rudolf Bester holds the title of the national top scorer with 13 goals, followed by Ruben Van Wyk, who scored 11 goals during his time with the team.

Namibia's National football team coach

Namibia has had several coaches over the years. However, in 2019, Bobby Samaria, a former Namibian team member himself, was appointed as the interim coach, a position he has held to date. Below is his profile.

Bobby Samaria's profile summary

  • Full names: Bobby Richard Samaria
  • Date of Birth: February 21 1970
  • Place of birth: Grootfontein, Namibia
  • Age: 51 years (as of January 2022)
  • Nationality: Namibian
Namibia’s national football team
Namibia's coach during training. Photo: @football_made_in_namibia (modified by author)
Source: Facebook

World ranking

As per the latest FIFA ranking, the Brave Warriors sits at position 112 with 1162.93 just after Kosovo, which has 1163.05.

Its highest-ever ranking was in November 1998 when it reached position 68. At the same time, its lowest ranking was position 167.

What is Namibia’s national football team's nickname?

The team is also known as the Brave Warriors amongst its fans. They are certainly taking the South African soccer scene by storm and are a force to be reckoned with.

Namibia's national football team aka the Brave Warriors might not be a household name in the world’s football arena. But the team certainly has been raising optimism amongst its fans due to its recent performance both at AFCON 2021 and COSAFA tournament games.

READ ALSO: Fascinating details about Mali's national football team

Sportbrief.com recently published a profile on Mali's national team, their history, team roster, its AFCON tours, coach, world ranking and its nickname.

To find out all the fascinating details about Mali's national team and many more, read here!

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Lewis Injai