Namibia's Brave Gladiators: gendering the sport and development nexus from the 1998 2nd World Women and Sport Conference to the 2011 Women's World Cup

Abstract

This paper introduces women's football development in Namibia from 1998 to 2011 as a case study to argue that presumed synergies of sport and development could overshadow the long-term effects of under-funding, discrimination and bureaucratic inertia. There are three key themes arising from this discussion. First, the often-piecemeal sport-for-development initiatives are compared with a relative lack of sustainable long-term provision of sports infrastructure for girls and women. Second, sport for international development and peace programmes frequently claim to ‘empower’ girls without helping to create a community that is ready to embrace young women who have, indeed, become more confident and assertive. This raises the complicated issue of the significance of role models for women and girls. Having visible and respected female athletes in a community can help to shift perceptions around gender, but these effects are difficult to measure. Finally, the work concludes with cautious optimism.

Notes

^1.Saavedra, ‘Football Feminine’; Rosca, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’; and Levermore, ‘Paucity of, and Dilemma in, Evaluating’.

^2.Hargreaves, ‘Women's Sport, Development and Cultural Diversity’; Darby, Africa, Football and FIFA; Bale and Cronin, Sport and Postcolonialism; Kidd, ‘New Social Movement’; and Levermore and Beacom, Sport and International Development.

^3.Levermore, ‘Paucity of, and Dilemma in, Evaluating’, 569.

^4.Saavedra, ‘Football Feminine’, 372.

^5.Boyle and Haynes, Football in the New Media Age, 5.

^6.Giulianotti and Robertson, Globalization and Football, 63.

^7. , Game for Rough Girls; Beautiful Game.

^8. This was the successor to the inaugural event held in Brighton in 1994.

^9.Pauline's observations contribute greatly to the section on the challenges faced by the female population presented in this paper.

^10.Daimon, ‘Most Beautiful Game’.

^11.Mills, ‘Corporatization of Women's Football’.

^12.Leigh and Bonin, ‘Pioneering Role of Madame Alice Milliat’.

^13.Lopez, Women on the Ball; Marschik, ‘Offside’; Prudhomme-Poncet, Histoire Du Football; Williams, Game for Rough Girls; and Dietschy, ‘Football Players’ Migration'.

^14.Jarvie and Sikes, ‘Running as a Resource of Hope?’

^15. For instance, Ireland's Katie Taylor may well earn more money from endorsements related to her boxing activity, such as her Lucozade commercial ‘Simply Unstoppable’ with Tinnie Tempah and Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, than her football career.

^16. United Nations General Assembly, ‘Sport as a Means to Promote Education, Health, Development and Peace’, Resolution 58/5, Report on the International Year of Sport and Physical Education (passed 3 November 2003), http://www.un.org/sport2005 (accessed December 22, 2011).

^17.FIFA, Namibia.

^18.Coalter, Wider Social Role for Sport, 58.

^19. Women Win, ‘Sport in Conflict Regions’, http://womenwin.org (accessed November 21, 2011).

^20.Kidd and Donnelly, Literature Reviews on Sport.

^21. ‘Galz and Goals on a World Stage’, NamibianSport.Com, http://www.namibian.com.na (accessed June 22, 2011).

^22.Levermore, ‘Paucity of, and Dilemma in, Evaluating’, 555.

^23.Giulianotti and Robertson, Globalization and Football, 152.

^24.Williams, Game for Rough Girls, 23.

^25.Yemm, ‘Voluntary Services Overseas’, 14.

^26. , ‘Women's Sports Dream’; ‘NAM to Meet DR Congo’.

^27. Julien Garises, personal interview, Windhoek, May 1998.

^28.Nandi-Ndaitwah, ‘Women's Sport in Namibia’.

^29.Bamjee and Vouillamoz, UEFA CAF Meridian Report.

^30. A total amount of $2500 was designated for a fax machine; $2500 for a photocopier; six sets of office furniture required $2500 and three computers cost $10,000.

^31. The breakdown of this budge was as follows: $3000 for 100 youth footballs; $46,000 for 50 kits of shirts, shorts and socks; and $1000 for 100 bibs.

^32.Amadhila, Pepsi-Youth Football Development Clinic, 3.

^33.Angula, ‘City Win Women's Soccer’.

^34. See Bale and Maguire, Global Sports Arena; Lanfranchi and Taylor, Moving with the Ball; and Giulianotti and Robertson, Globalization and Football, for examples of the growing literature on the history of male football migration.

^35. Mikael Salzer, personal communication, 16 August 2010; Anne Vonnez, personal communication, 16 August 2010. Mikael is the UEFA Head of Women's Competitions and Futsal, and Annd is the UEFA Head of Women's Competitions Division. Both made the point that the governing bodies' bureaucratization had increased compared to Mikael's experience of the Swedish FA from 1974 to 1976 and during Anne's varied career at UEFA since 1998.

^36. ‘Galz and Goals on a World Stage’, NamibianSport.Com, http://www.namibian.com.na (accessed June 22, 2011).

^37. Beyond Sport, ‘Sport Federation or Governing Body of the Year: The NFA Galz & Goals Project (with UNICEF & SCORE Namibia)’, http://www.beyondsport.org/the-awards/awards2010 (accessed December 22, 2011).

^38. ‘Galz and Goals on a World Stage’, NamibianSport.Com, http://www.namibian.com.na (accessed June 22, 2011).

^39.Saavedra, ‘Football Feminine’.