Collin Benjamin was an unknown when he left his native Namibia in the 1990s, becoming one of the best African imports into the German league. Back in Windhoek, he wants to improve the professional football club landscape with the virtues learned from his Germany stint. 



There have been thousands of African footballers who have left the continent to seek fame and fortune on the football fields of Europe, where the earnings can be eye- wateringly plentiful and international glory beckons.



The likes of Samuel Eto’o, Abedi Pele, Didier Drogba, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have been turned into worldwide icons by their exploits and remain massive role models.



But the cycle of moving overseas to play and then returning home to share the knowledge and expertise gained has been largely limited, making it always heartening when this is competed.



One such example is Collin Benjamin, who was an unknown when he left his native Namibia in the 1990s to try his luck in Germany.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="809" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Collin-Benjamin-image-supplied-809x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61913" style="width:421px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Collin-Benjamin-image-supplied-809x1024.jpg 809w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Collin-Benjamin-image-supplied-237x300.jpg 237w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Collin-Benjamin-image-supplied-768x972.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Collin-Benjamin-image-supplied-1214x1536.jpg 1214w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Collin-Benjamin-image-supplied-1618x2048.jpg 1618w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Collin-Benjamin-image-supplied-scaled.jpg 2023w" sizes="(max-width: 809px) 100vw, 809px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Collin Benjamin, coach of Namibia ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix</figcaption></figure></div>


There have always been close footballing contacts between the southern African country and its former colonizer and the contacts helped Benjamin find a club in the semi-professional ranks. There is little glamor there but players head in that direction in the hope it proves a springboard.



This is what happened to Benjamin, who went on to spend a decade playing in the Bundesliga and became one of the best African imports into the German league.



After his career at Hamburger SV and 1860 Munich, he worked as a junior coach in Germany before deciding to go home to Windhoek.



Since then, he has worked his way through the coaching ranks with Namibia’s junior teams and on to the senior side, when he qualified for this year’s Africa Cup of Nations.



It was only the fourth time Namibia reached the finals, and in the Ivory Coast, they set new standards, winning for a first time and also qualifying for the knockout phase – something they had not done before.



Benjamin felt the urge to return home, knowing his experience could be a force for good.



“Namibia is my country that gave me the chance to become a footballer. I returned to Windhoek in 2016 because I wanted to give something back to the country with my academy after my almost 20 years in Germany,” he explains to FORBES AFRICA.



“The fact that we were now able to give something back with the achievements at the Cup of Nations finals and that I can do this job makes me very happy and grateful.” Benjamin has had to deal with limited facilities, much changed from his time in Germany with their abundant resources.



Namibia’s small population also means a restricted pool of talent to choose from plus the country’s administrators have been reportedly fighting each other over the last decade, leaving the professional club landscape in tatters.



Benjamin says, however, that there was a fire burning within all his players, just as there was with him when he was starting out.



“You know, less talent, more work, and just the hunger. They all want to get out of Namibia and have an opportunity to play outside in another country.”



That spurred Namibia to a successful tournament in the Ivory Coast, including an upset win over Tunisia, who were at the last World Cup finals in Qatar.



“Basically, it was that hunger, wanting to succeed, knowing that clubs elsewhere cannot see them at home. The only platform they have to make a name for themselves is the national team.”



Benjamin has looked to harness that as best he can. “My approach is basically to look at what you have talentwise but also your personality. I’m of the opinion that I was not the best player, but I could make it and go and play in Germany just because of basic hunger and work ethic. I believe that you have to work if you want to achieve. I felt I had to get the team centered and create an ambition in them. They had to know that they should work towards something, and only through work you can achieve those goals. We had to become a lot fitter and play with more aggression and just learn to make things difficult for your opponent. So, it was basically just those principles. Those are kind of like my life principles that I’m just trying to instil in them.”



Moving from Germany has not proven easy because Namibia is hampered not only by a small pool of players but also a lack of facilities. Their two stadiums in Windhoek have both been ruled unfit for international matches by Confederation of African Football inspectors. Namibia have had to host their ‘home’ matches in South Africa.



“It’s not something that I’m going to hide, I do get frustrated. The whole parliament have been congratulating us, influential people, politicians, but we don’t need that. We want them to use their influence to at least have a stadium where we can play our matches, so that these players actually have something to dream about and people to cheer for them. If you want to compete on this continental stage, you need to win your home games and for us that’s not possible as long



as our stadiums are banned because they need to be upgraded.” But his job is still a thrill. “I don’t want hero status. For me it’s about something completely different. In Germany, with my easy nature, I was certainly seen by everyone as an African, and many of the boys in the team probably thought of me as ‘He’s not African, he’s European’. I am of course African. But I have internalized German virtues such as discipline, I try to mix and bring together the best of both cultures. So far, the combination has worked very well. I didn’t have a career plan before. My only goal was to further develop football in Namibia. And we’re not done yet,” warns Benjamin.

Football – 2022 Hollywood bets Cosafa Cup – Namibia Training – Princess Magogo Stadium

The Sportsman Kick-Starting Change From Germany To Namibia

The recent Tokyo Olympic games may have been a test of athletic achievement like no other in history with fans largely absent and fears around Covid-19 hanging like a dark cloud over Japan. But there was still plenty to celebrate, especially for athletes from the African continent, who each had their own goals, hopes, and dreams, which for some included much more than winning a gold medal. there were expected successes, like swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker, to a shock silver medal for surfer Bianca Buitendag. everybody’s story is unique. FORBES AFRICA tells the story of four such athletes and their personal motivations for competing on the world’s greatest sporting stage.



By Nick Said 



One of the stories of the Olympics centered around the sensational rise of Namibian sprinter Christine Mboma.



The teenager cuts a shy figure off the track, but once she steps between the lines is explosive in her pace and has the potential to be a genuine superstar of global athletics for the next decade.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1235257391.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52972" width="559" height="378" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1235257391.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1235257391-300x203.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1235257391-768x520.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 559px) 100vw, 559px" /><figcaption>ZAGREB, CROATIA &#8211; SEPTEMBER 14: Christine Mboma of Namibia breaks the rally record with a time of 22.04 in the women&#8217;s 200 meter during IAAF World Challenge Zagreb 2021 &#8211; 71st Boris Hanzekovic Memorial at University park on September 14, 2021 in Zagreb, Croatia. (Photo by Goran Stanzl/Pixsell/MB Media/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



The 18-year-old’s remarkable run to 200 meters silver in Tokyo, and a subsequent gold medal in the Diamond League finals a few weeks later in Zurich, is all the more impressive after she was barred by World Athletics from competing in her favorite 800 metres event.



Like South African Caster Semenya, Mboma has a naturally high level of testosterone that means she is prohibited from competing in distances ranging from 400 meters to a mile without either undergoing surgical intervention or taking medication that has known unpleasant side- effects.



Semenya is fighting these regulations in the European Court of Human Rights and Mboma will be an interested spectator, but for now, along with compatriot Beatrice Masilingi, she must give up their favored 800 meters event.



The pair received the news just weeks before the start of the Olympics but took it in their stride. Mboma ended up with a silver medal in a breakthrough performance, while Masilingi also made the final.



Until the start of 2021, Mboma’s best performance in the 200 meters was 25.05, but she ran an incredible 21.81 in Tokyo to finish just behind Jamaican sprint queen Elaine Thompson-Herah.



“I believed that I would be a medal contender at the Olympics,” she says. “Especially when I reached the final. I must admit I was feeling scared running with the best athletes in the world, but I tried to ignore it and just focus on my own race.



“The conditions were very hot but standing there [at the start], I just remembered how I started running for my school team and how I fell in love with athletics.”



That simple thought cleared away the clutter as she produced the run of her life – though arguably she was more impressive in winning the Diamond League final weeks later in a quicker time of 21.78, which is a world record for an athlete under the age of 20.



“I was very happy and proud of myself to win the silver medal for my country,” she says of her Tokyo run. “I hope I can be a role model for a new generation of Namibian athletes.”



She is also philosophical about her being barred from her favorite events, though does not want to be drawn into the controversy on the subject.



“There are lots of challenges in life, but a tough challenge can bring out the best in you,” she says. “Even though I was disappointed, I believed that I could do better [than she had previously done] in the 200 meters. That is what I focused on.”



Her remarkable improvement has been overseen by coach Henk Botha, who is more than a trainer to both Mboma and Masilingi, but also a mentor.



“One of the most important aspects of the relationship between me and my coach is communication. I share my problems with him and together we solve them,” she says. Botha says he feels “privileged to work with the rising star. “When I started coaching Christine, she was still a 1,500 meter and 800-meter athlete, but I noticed her speed so I brought her down to the 400 meters and then the 200 meters,” he says. “The rest is history. Now we have a silver medallist at the Olympic Games, who is a beautiful child from Namibia’s grassroots, and I’m just so privileged to have been able to work with her.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-maverick-selemon-barega">THE MAVERICK: SELEMON BAREGA</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1331559952.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52973" width="595" height="397" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1331559952.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1331559952-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1331559952-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 595px) 100vw, 595px" /><figcaption>TOKYO, JAPAN &#8211; JULY 30: Selemon Barega of Team Ethiopia celebrates winning gold in the Men&#8217;s 10,000 metres Final on day seven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on July 30, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Ethiopian Selemon Barega has competed in everything from 1,500 to 10,000 meters in his unorthodox young career, but at the age of 21 is now an Olympic gold medallist after admitting even he was surprised at how quickly he took to the longer distances.



Ethiopia is renowned for his long-distance runners, especially in the 10,000 meters where Kenenisa Bekele and the legendary Haile Gebrselassie previously each won Olympic gold medals on two occasions.



Barega only recently targeted that distance having spent most of his career competing over



5,000 meters, but the move has paid off handsomely.



“I started on the journey to the longer distance because I wanted to test myself and I felt very comfortable in the 10,000 meters,” he says. “So looking at the best plan for myself, I felt like it was the best distance for me. But it even surprised me how well I took to the longer distance.”



It was an Olympics like no other, with Covid-19 restrictions hampering training in the build-up to the event, and the athlete’s village not the usual hive of activity and positive energy.



“The training was not normal like before,” Barega says. “Some tracks were closed; we had to modify where and when we trained but all in all we made do and got the work in.



“It was very strange in the athlete’s village for me. The restrictions were so tight that we really did not do much at all. We were not allowed to move freely.” 



Few expected Barega to be a genuine medal contender in Tokyo, but on a blisteringly hot day with high humidity, the conditions were perhaps a leveler and he outsprinted world record holder Joshua Cheptegei and the equally fancied Jacob Kiplimo to win in a time of 27:43.22, the slowest in an Olympic final since 1992.



“I had a plan and I stuck to my plan, and I was very confident on that day,” he said. “Of course, I generally do not like to run in humidity, but to be honest with you, I knew what I wanted to do in the race and nothing was going to bother me that day. “I’m the Olympic champion. I’m in history and I’m the pride of my country right now. I was not letting anyone beat me.”



He hopes he can repeat the feat in Paris in three years’ time and join Bekele and Gebrselassie on two gold medals in the 10,000.



“I want to be mentioned with the greats and these two are our heroes and legends. So to even be talked about at the same time as them is an honor already. I hope someday to make them proud.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE MOTHER: FAITH KIPYEGON</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1339319302.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52975" width="554" height="349" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1339319302.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1339319302-300x189.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1339319302-768x485.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 554px) 100vw, 554px" /><figcaption>ZURICH, SWITZERLAND &#8211; SEPTEMBER 09: Faith Kipyegon of Kenya celebrates winning the Women&#8217;s 1500m Final during the Weltklasse Zurich, part of the Wanda Diamond League at Stadium Letzigrund on September 09, 2021 in Zurich, Switzerland. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



The fact that Kenyan sensation Faith Kipyegon defended her 1,500 meters Olympic title in Tokyo is no surprise given her status as one of the elite runners over that distance in the past decade.



But what had changed between her two wins was the fact that she had become a mother, and with that comes added responsibility, a change in lifestyle and less flexibility to train than she had previously enjoyed.



But an emotional Kipyegon says she gets no greater joy than competing for her daughter, who is now three years old, and was spurred on to gold again by thoughts of family.



“Running in Tokyo was great, especially running as a mother, it meant a lot to me. Of course, I dedicate my medal to my daughter Alyn,” she says. “I was very well prepared, it was my second Olympic title. It was not an easy race, but every time I compete, I hope to inspire young athletes at home, and to inspire my daughter.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE VETERAN: HELLEN OBIRI</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1332016016.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52974" width="622" height="429" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1332016016.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1332016016-300x207.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-1332016016-768x531.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 622px) 100vw, 622px" /><figcaption>TOKYO, JAPAN &#8211; AUGUST 2: Silver Medalist Hellen Obiri of Kenya following the Women&#8217;s 5000m Final on day ten of the athletics events of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 2, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Hellen Obiri is a legend in the world of 3,000 and 5,000 meters running, but the one thing that has eluded the Kenyan in her illustrious career is an Olympic gold medal.



That continues to be the case after she picked up a second 5,000 silver medal in Tokyo, and she says she will call it a day over those distances and from 2022 focus on the half-marathon and 10,000.



It is the end of an era, but also the sign of an athlete who can adapt their capabilities to seek out new challenges.



“The young ones are coming and they are very strong. That means I always have to be focussed and give my best,”



Obiri says. “But next year I am moving to another phase of my life. “I think to run 11 years on the track is a great achievement for me, I learned so much. It has not been easy, but now I said to myself I want to try another thing in my life. I will miss the track of course, and the other athletes, but I feel like it is time to let the young ones shine.”

coversport-1

MEDALS AND METTLE: AFRICA’S HISTORY-MAKERS AT THE GAMES

The Welwitschias are committed to world cup glory, and to elevate other structures within Namibian rugby.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Namibia’s 20-year hunt&nbsp;&nbsp;
for a victory at the Rugby World Cup will continue in Japan later this
year, where Africa’s second best rugby nation face a daunting pool that
includes ‘big brother’ South Africa and defending champions New Zealand.



Namibia have shown a marked improvement in recent
tournaments and swept to qualification for the 2019 World Cup in emphatic style
by lifting the Rugby Africa Gold Cup, a competition that does not include the
Springboks.



Under Welsh coach Phil Davies, who will be leading the team for the second time at the global showpiece tournament, Namibian rugby has improved in leaps and bounds, even while the country’s union struggles with funds to keep the game afloat.



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The Welwitschias, as the side are known, have lost all 19
previous games at the World Cup since their first qualification in 1999, but in
the last tournament in England scored their most points (70) and conceded their
fewest (174) in a pool that also included eventual winners New Zealand.



“We are positive we can continue to make improvements at the
World Cup and get that first win,” Corrie Mensah, president of the Namibia
Rugby Union, told FORBES AFRICA in an exclusive interview from Windhoek.



“Together with the head coach [Davies], we have mapped out a
plan for the build-up to the tournament and already have most of our players
together in camp.



“We have a tough program, the guys know they have to work hard to be part of our World Cup plans, but the preparation is there, the structures are in place and we are looking forward to a big year for Namibian rugby.”



The side open their World Cup campaign against Italy, in
Higashiōsaka on September 22, before a clash with the Springboks in Toyota, six
days later and another encounter against the All Blacks in Tokyo on October 6.



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But the game the team will, realistically, be targeting for
their first victory is the match-up with fellow minnows Canada, in their final
pool match in Kamaishi a week later.



“Our main objective is to get that first World Cup win,”
Mensah says. “That would be a big moment for Namibian rugby and another sign
that we are on an upward curve. I think then we could call our tournament a
success.



“The second objective is to try and be competitive against
the All Blacks, Springboks and Italy. If we can do that, with a fraction of the
resources of those sides, then we can say we are punching above our weight.”



Namibia will compete in the 2019 World Rugby Nations Cup in
Uruguay in June along with the hosts, Romania and Russia, which will give them
three matches against fellow second-tier nations.



They then defend their title in the African Gold Cup, before
playing a couple of World Cup warm-up games that have yet to be confirmed.



The team will also play in South Africa’s domestic
SuperSport Rugby Challenge, a tournament that has proven vital in giving their
players quality, competitive matches that they would, simply, not get at home.



But while the team continues to show improvement on the
pitch, Mensah admits that it has been a hard slog off it to keep Namibian
rugby’s development goals in place.



“The biggest challenge we face is a financial one and the allocation of grants from World Rugby should be used in the right areas,” Mensah says.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“High performance grants should go to high performance protocols, development funds likewise. Making sure we do that is a major commitment we have made.”<cite> Corrie Mensah </cite></blockquote>



Mensah has also committed to improving other structures
within Namibian rugby, away from the senior men’s team.



“We have had major difficulties, with the economic slump in
the country, in terms of attracting sponsorship, which has had a major impact
on our league structures.



“Women’s rugby is non-existent in Namibia, but it is part of
our strategic plan to get it off the ground. 



The place to start is with regional teams, which we are
seeking to do this year, and then, hopefully, in future that filters down to
club sides.”



Mensah is also hoping to improve Namibia’s Sevens
structures, with that version of the game growing in popularity around the
world.



“With Sevens … it is about creating a whole new culture
around it because it is not something that is traditional to Namibian rugby. 



“It is part of our three and five-year strategic plans, but
again the funding for that kind of development is a challenge. We need to get
players into an academy structure and work with them constantly, but that all
costs a lot of money.”



In many ways, Namibia, with a population of 2.6-million is
already punching above their weight just to be at the World Cup, especially
with their fiscal challenges.



But how far they can go in terms of developing rugby in the country is an exciting prospect, and a good showing in Japan will confirm that they are a nation on the rise.



-Nick Said

Tag: Nambia

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

The Sportsman Kick-Starting Change From Germany To Namibia

MEDALS AND METTLE: AFRICA’S HISTORY-MAKERS AT THE GAMES

Namibia To Kick It Up A Notch