Warriors to prepare for Afcon in May The Brave Warriors will start preparing for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) next month.The continental showpiece will take place in Egypt from 21 June to 19 July and will see Namibia make their third appearance.
They are drawn in Group D with Morocco, South Africa and Ivory Coast.
Brave Warriors coach Ricardo Mannetti said their goal is to win their first match.
“We will try to win a game and see how it goes… Anything can happen at these finals,” he said.
He said the Brave Warriors will try to enjoy themselves and make Namibia proud.
“It is a perfect draw for the underdogs. They will not focus on us but on themselves and this is exactly where I want to be,” Mannetti said.
Preparations for the competition will start next month after the Namibia Premier League (NPL) is concluded.
“We will start our preparations on 26 May in one of Egypt's neighbouring countries. We need to make sure we prepare under the same conditions, as it will be very hot in Egypt,” Mannetti said.
The Brave Warriors will be based in Cairo, with their first group match against Morocco on 23 June. They will take on South Africa on 28 June.
Both matches will be at the Al Salam Stadium in Cairo. They will play their final group game against Ivory Coast on 01 July at Cairo International Stadium.
Mannetti said they will need to be in a position to play friendlies without long travelling times. He said their camp destination near Egypt is yet to be confirmed.
At the 32nd Afcon edition, 24 teams are drawn into six groups of four teams each. After the group stage, the top two teams and the four best third-placed sides will advance to the round of 16.
NAMPA