Reports of a new coach for the Brave Warriors continue to grow despite the Namibia Football Association’s insistence that starter Collin Benjamin’s job is secure.
On Tuesday, online sports website africatopsports. com reported that the NFA was close to signing Simon McMenemy from Scotland, and his anonymous agent claimed that they had already reached an agreement for McMenemy, 45, to take over the Brave Warriors and that he would likely do so. start operating on January 1, 2024.
“We already agree on everything, the contract is closed and dusted, the salary is already agreed, the accommodation is also done, so doing it with cash is no problem at all,” the agent told Africa Top Sports, adding: “The duration is what holds us back.
When asked for more details, the agent said: “We need two years for the coach, but Namibia are asking for a one-year option, so that’s what’s holding us back at the moment, but otherwise, I’m sure everything will work out. “He will be taken care of soon and the contract will officially start on January 1, so he will be on his way to Namibia.
The agent added that McMenemy had intended to take over as Namibia’s coach three years ago, but the Covid-19 pandemic derailed that decision.
McMenemy has in the past controlled the national groups of the Philippines and Indonesia, as well as several clubs in the Philippines, Indonesia, Maldives and Cambodia.
His greatest success was with the Philippine club Loyola FC, with whom he won 67% of his matches, while with the Indonesian national team he obtained a winning percentage of 28% and with the Philippine national team 20% (one win, two draws and two losses). However, their lone win against Vietnam in 2010 was ranked as one of the “10 Greatest Football Stories of 2010” by Sports Illustrated magazine.
Rumors about a new coach for the Brave Warriors already began circulating last week when an audio clip of an unidentified coach, allegedly in talks with the NFA, circulated on social media, but newly elected NFA president Robert Shimooshili denied the allegations.
“We are aware of the clip circulating on social media. We don’t know who that user is. People want to avoid the spread of misinformation,” he told Namibian.
“We’ve only been in place for a week and we’ve made decisions like this. We all know the paintings that Collin Benjamin does and we are not satisfied with it,” he added.
Benjamin was coach of the Brave Warriors last July and since then he has accumulated a record of thirteen games, 4 wins, 4 draws, and five losses, for a win rate of just over 30%.
During the AFCON qualifying campaign, the Brave Warriors beat Cameroon 2-1 in Soweto in March this year and qualified for the final of the Africa Cup of Nations for the fourth time in their history.
The final phase of the CAN 2023 will take place in Côte d’Ivoire from 13 January to 11 February 2024.