Sport in Namibia
The national game of Namibia is Rugby. It was declared as the national sport in 2018. Football is another very popular, the main league is the Namibia Premier League. Their main governing body for football is known as Namibia Football Association. The national football team has been part of the COSAFA Cup since 1998 but sadly, they never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. Spectator sports are very popular in the country and some of the examples of those sports are boxing, rugby and golf.
Boxing is also one of the most watched spectator sports in Namibia and this country can proudly say that they have many title-holders in this sport. Rugby is also quite popular in the country, the national team is called “Welwitschia” named after the country’s national plant. Their team won the International Rugby Cup (IRB) for the first time in 2010.
Golf is also very popular in Namibia, a popular golf course is the Rossmund Desert Golf Course in Swakopmund and the most successful golfer from Namibia is Trevor Dodds.
Considering the fact that Namibia has a relatively small population of less than 3 million, they have performed quite well in the biggest sporting event in the world, the Olympic Games. Frank "Frankie" Fredericks took home four silver medals in Track and Field, two in 1992 and then again in 1996.
Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Namibia. Is there something missing? If you know of something that should be listed here, please let us know.
Popular sports of Namibia
- Football (Soccer), rugby union, cricket, golf and fishing, boxing and athletics.
Namibia Sporting Success
Great athletes from Namibia
- Frankie Fredericks (sprinter, athletics)
- Japhet Uutoni (boxing)
- Trevor Dodds (golf)
- Rudie van Vuuren (rugby, cricket)
Namibia Sports trivia
- Until it gained independence from South Africa in 1990, players for Namibia were often eligible to represent South Africa in world sporting events.
- Frankie Fredericks was the first (and so far only) Olympic medalist from Namibia, with 4 silver medals
- Namibian Rudie van Vuuren appeared in both the cricket and rugby union World Cups in 2003.
Namibia at major events
- Namibia at the Summer Olympics
- Namibia at the Commonwealth Games
- Namibia at the Cricket ODI World Cup
- Namibia at the Cricket T20 World Cup
- Nanibia at the Rugby World Cup
Past sporting events hosted in Namibia
Upcoming sporting events in Namibia
- 2027 Cricket World Cup (1-Day) co-hosted with South Africa and Zimbabwe
- 2035 African Games, Windhoek
Annual sporting events held in Namibia
Sporting Facilities in Namibia
- Independence Stadium in Windhoek (the home stadium for all national teams)
- Sam Nujoma Stadium in Katutura
- Rossmund Desert Golf Course
Related Pages
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