The principal sports in

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

are

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

. Boxing and athletics are also popular. The home stadium for all national teams is

Independence Stadium Independence Stadium may also refer to: * Independence Stadium (Bakau) in Gambia * Independence Stadium (Namibia) in Windhoek * Independence Stadium (South Africa) in Mthatha, a List of football stadiums in South Africa, football stadium in South A ...

Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...

, while

Sam Nujoma Stadium Sam Nujoma Stadium (also called the Sam Nujoma Soccer Stadium or SNSS) is a football (soccer) stadium in Katutura, Windhoek, Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its bor ...

Katutura Katutura (Otjiherero for ''We do not settle'') is a township of Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia. Katutura was created in 1961 following the forced removal of Windhoek's black population from the Old Location, which afterwards was developed int ...

is also occasionally used.

Football

Football in Namibia is governed by the

Namibia Football Association The Namibia Football Association (NFA) is the governing body of football in Namibia. It was founded in 1990, and affiliated to FIFA and to CAF in 1992. It organizes the national football league and the national team. Its aim is to create a footb ...

. The

Namibia Premier League The Namibia Premier League (NPL) was the highest level of domestic association football in Namibia until it was disbanded following the 2018-19 season. The league was established in 1990 and was trimmed to 12 teams from the traditional 16 in 2005 ...

is the main domestic league. The

Namibia national football team The Namibia national football team represents Namibia in men's international football and is controlled by the Namibia Football Association. They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup but have made four appearances in the Africa Cup of ...

has never qualified for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

, but has won the

COSAFA Cup The COSAFA Cup (known fully as COSAFA Senior Challenge Cup) is an annual tournament for teams from Southern Africa organized by Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA), inaugurated after the ban against the Republic of Sout ...

in 2015 and has twice been runners up in the same. They have qualified for four African Cups of Nations, in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

advancing beyond the group stages for the first time in

Rugby union

Rugby union was introduced to Namibia from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1916. The main governing body today is the

Namibia Rugby Union Namibia Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Namibia. It was formed in March 1990, the same month that it joined the International Rugby Board. See also *Namibia national rugby union teamNamibia Sports Commission References ...

. The Namibian national team are commonly known as the

Welwitschia ''Welwitschia'' is a monotypic genus of gnetophytes containing only the species ''Welwitschia mirabilis''. It is named after the Austrian botanist Friedrich Welwitsch, who documented the plant in the 1850s. In common use, it is sometimes ref ...

s. Namibia has made the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

on six occasions, in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

but has never won a game. Until independence, players for Namibia were also eligible to represent South Africa with Namibian born Springboks including

Jan Ellis Jan Hendrik Ellis (5 January 1942 – 8 February 2013) was a South African rugby union player who represented the Springboks in 38 tests, which at his retirement in 1976 was a record. His 7 test tries equalled Ferdie Bergh's record for forwar ...

and, more recently,

Percy Montgomery Percival Colin Montgomery (born 15 March 1974) is a Namibian-born South African former professional rugby union player. When he ended his international career in August 2008, he held the all-time records for both cap (sport), caps and points fo ...

. Various players pursue their rugby careers in South Africa and in a number of European countries.

Cricket

The history of cricket in Namibia is closely linked with South African cricket. After independence, the newly formed Namibian Cricket Board set about developing the game throughout the country, and also arranged visits from various English county teams and

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. They were granted associate membership of the ICC in 1992. Namibia played six matches in the 2003 World Cup and lost all of them. However they had a credible match against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

where they were ahead of the English under the Duckworth-Lewis method for twelve overs and Jan Berrie Burger almost mastered an upset with 85 off 86 balls.

Rudi van Vuuren Rudolf Jansen van Vuuren (born 20 September 1972) is a Namibian physician, conservationist and former sportsman who specialised in both cricket and rugby union. He was a part of the Namibian rugby union squads for the 1999 Rugby World Cup and ...

took 5 wickets, and later went on to feature in the Rugby World Cup for Namibia that same year. Namibia qualified for the ICC World T20 in UAE and Oman in 2021 where the team won its first ever world cup match against Netherlands followed by victory against Ireland to qualify for Super 12s. The victory against Ireland was the first ever win by Namibia against a Full member in an official international match. In the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, Namibia registered their most famous victory by beating Sri Lanka by 55 runs at Geelong. However, they could not the repeat the feat of the 2021 T20 World cup as they lost their next two matches to Netherlands and UAE. Former South African all-rounder

David Wiese David Wiese (born 18 May 1985) is a South African-born former Namibian cricketer who has played for Namibia in international cricket. Wiese became eligible to play international cricket for Namibia due to his father having been born in Namibia. ...

is Namibia's most high-profile cricketer and is a regular in various T20 Leagues, most notably in

Pakistan Super League The Pakistan Super League (PSL), also known as HBL PSL for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan, organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Founded by the PCB in 2015, the league features six city-bas ...

where he plays for

Lahore Qalandars Lahore Qalandars is a Pakistani professional cricket franchise which plays in the Pakistan Super League, representing Lahore, the capital of Punjab. They are the current champions of the PSL and the most successful team in the tournament's hist ...

. In the recently concluded IPL 2023 Auctions, David Wiese was picked by

Kolkata Knight Riders The Kolkata Knight Riders, also known as KKR, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Kolkata, West Bengal, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla, and ...

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

*1975 to 1992 inclusive: Not eligible - Not an ICC member *

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

: Did not qualify *

: First round *

: Did not qualify *

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

: Super 12 *

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

: First Round

Development Programs

Cricket in Namibia is mostly played by the white community, with minimal black participation.

Athletics

The most prominent Namibian athlete, and one of the most prominent people in general, is the former sprinter

Frankie Fredericks Frank "Frankie" Fredericks (born 2 October 1967) is a former track and field athlete from Namibia. Running in the 100 metres and 200 metres, he won four silver medals at the Olympic Games (two in 1992 and two in 1996), making him Namibia's o ...

. He is the first

Olympic medalist This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Sports that will appear in the 2028 Summer Olympics ar ...

from the country, and won four Olympic silver medals in total. He also became

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and won an additional three silver medal at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, all in the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

event. He holds the African record in this event with 19.68 seconds, and held the African record in

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

until May 2006. Sprinters

Christine Mboma Christine Mboma (born 22 May 2003) is a Namibian Sprint (running), sprinter who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres, 200 m. At the age of 18, she won a silver medal in the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metres, 200 m ...

and Beatrice Masilingi attended the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. Although disallowed from their favourite

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

event due to naturally high

testosterone Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and androgen in Male, males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testicles and prostate, as well as promoting se ...

levels, they both ran the 200 metres and qualified for the final, the first female Namibian athletes to do so at the Olympics. Christine Mboma won a silver at Tokyo Olympics 2020 in women's 200m. Other prominent athletes include middle-distance runner

Agnes Samaria Agnes Maryna Samaria (born 11 August 1972 in Otjiwarongo) is a retired Namibian middle-distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres. Samaria won two of the three medals that the country won at the 2007 All-Africa Games. She has been a UNIC ...

and long-distance runner

Luketz Swartbooi Luketz Swartbooi (born 7 February 1966) is a retired Namibian long-distance runner. Career In 1992, Swartbooi won the Rössing Marathon with a time of 2:11:23 min, a record that stands. At the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart he won silve ...

, as well as paralympic athletes

Johanna Benson Johanna Benson (born 17 February 1990) is a Paralympian athlete from Walvis Bay, Namibia. She competes in T37 long jump and sprint events and at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London she won the women's 200 metres race in her classification. H ...

Ananias Shikongo Ananias Shikongo (born 25 April 1986) is a Paralympian athlete from Namibia competing mainly in category T11 short-distance events. He was born in 1986 and lives in Windhoek, Namibia. Among his achievements is a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Para ...

Johannes Nambala Johannes Nambala (born 15 February 1991) is a Paralympian athlete from Namibia competing mainly in category T13 sprint events. In 2013 he became the first Namibian to win a gold medal at an IPC Athletics World Championships, when he won the 400m ...

, and Reginald Benade.

Basketball

Namibia waits for its first qualification for the

FIBA Africa Championship The AfroBasket (alternatively known as the FIBA Africa Championship, FIBA African Championship, or FIBA AfroBasket) is the men's basketball continental championship contested by the senior national teams of Africa, played once every four years. ...

. Its basketball federation cooperates with the German federation.

Boxing

There have been several successful Namibian boxers, including Japhet Uutoni (winner of gold medal at 2006 Commonwealth Games and 2006 African Boxing championships), Paulus Ambunda (represented his country at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

), Paulus Moses, Harry Simon and Joseph Jermia (represented his country at the

as well as winning a bronze medal in the 48 kg weight class in the

2003 All-Africa Games The 8th All Africa Games, also known as Abuja 2003, were held from 5–17 October 2003 in Abuja, Nigeria. 53 countries participated in 23 sports. The main venue was the newly constructed Abuja Stadium. The organizing committee was headed by N ...

. In March 2008, Namibia hosted the final round of qualifying for the continental tournament of

boxing at the 2008 Summer Olympics The boxing program of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China, China was held at the Workers Indoor Arena. Medals were awarded in eleven events, with each event corresponding to a recognized weight division of male boxers ...

. As Japhet Uutoni had already qualified for the 2008 Olympics by winning his class in the first round of qualifiers, 2 other Namibian boxers also qualified (

Mujandjae Kasuto Mujandjae Kasuto (born 25 November 1985) is a Namibian amateur boxer who has competed twice at the Olympics. At the Commonwealth Games 2006 he lost early at junior welterweight (-64 kg). Kasuto competed for Namibia at the 2008 Summer Oly ...

and Julius Indongo). In January 2009, Paulus Moses defeated

Yusuke Kobori is a retired professional boxer from Japan and a former WBA lightweight champion. Professional career Kobori won the Japanese super featherweight title on January 14, 2006 by knocking out Keita Manabe in the second round. He went on to defend i ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

to win the WBA lightweight title.

Golf

The most prominent Namibian golfer is

Trevor Dodds Trevor George Dodds (born 26 September 1959) is a Namibian professional golfer who formerly played on the PGA Tour. He is known for winning the 1998 edition of Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic. Early life Dodds was born in Windhoek, South ...

. There are 25 : *

Tsumeb Tsumeb (; ) is a city of around 35,000 inhabitants and the largest town in the Oshikoto Region, Oshikoto region in northern Namibia. Tsumeb, since its founding in 1905, has been primarily a mining town. The town is the site of a deep mine (the ...

Golf Club *

Henties Bay Henties Bay ( English, literally: ''Henty's Bay''. Afrikaans: ''Hentiesbaai'', German: ''Hentiesbucht'') is a coastal town in the Erongo Region of western Namibia. The town had 7,569 inhabitants in 2023, an increase from 3,285 in 2001. Establish ...

Golf & Lifestyle Estate * Rossmund Desert Golf Course,

Swakopmund Swakopmund ("Mouth of the Swakop River, Swakop") is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 road (Namibia), B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo Region, Erongo administrative district. It ...

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay (; ; ) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the List of cities in Namibia, second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The city covers an area of of land. The bay is a ...

Golf Course * Omeya Golf Club, between

and Rehoboth *

Windhoek Country Club Resort The Windhoek Country Club Resort is a multi-use resort outside of Windhoek, Namibia owned by the Government of Namibia, and managed by Legacy Hotels and Resorts International. The Resort was opened in May 1995 and was home to the Miss Universe 19 ...

Golf Course *

Gobabis Gobabis (, ) is a town in eastern Namibia. It is the regional capital of the Omaheke Region, and the district capital of the Gobabis electoral constituency. Gobabis is in the heart of the cattle farming area. It had a population of 33,418 peop ...

Golf Course *

Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It is named after , a German Empire, German industrialist and benefactor of the city. Keetmanshoop had a population of 27,862 people in 2023. History Before the colonial era, ...

Golf Course *

Lüderitz Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island. Lüderitz had a population of 16,125 people in 2023. Th ...

Golf Course *

Oranjemund Oranjemund (Dutch for ''"Mouth of Orange"'') is a diamond mining town in the ǁKaras Region of the extreme southwest of Namibia, on the northern bank of the Orange River mouth at the border with South Africa. It had a population of 7,736 peopl ...

Golf Club

Horse Riding

Namibian Equestrian Riding

The Namibian Equestrian Federation (NAMEF) was founded in 1958 by Mr. E Homan, E. Holtz and I. Voigts. It was originally known as the South West African Horse Society and changed its name to NAMEF after Namibia gained

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

from the

Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. They are affiliated to the Namibian Sport Commission (NSC), the

Namibian National Olympic Committee The Namibia National Olympic Committee (IOC code: NAM) is the National Olympic Committee representing Namibia. It was created in 1990 and recognised by the IOC in 1992 Namibia made its debut at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona where it was r ...

(NNOC) and the International body Federation Equestrian International (FEI) since 1992, representing the horse sport on a National and International level.

Namibian Endurance Riding

Namibia Equestrian Federation is the official Federation for

endurance riding Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the FEI. There are endurance rides worldwide. Endurance rides can be any distance, though they are rar ...

in Namibia. Regular endurance competitions and rides throughout the country are being held under the governance of NAMEF

Icestock in Namibia

The Icestocksport Association of Namibia was founded in 2004. The men's team won the Africa Cup on 7 occasion (2005, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022). The ladies' team won the Africa Cup in 2013 and 2017. In 2020 the men's team won the silver medal at the World Championship in group B and Bronze in 2022.

Lawn Bowls in Namibia

Lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

was one of the first sport codes in Namibia to produce a world champion.

Douw Calitz Douw Calitz (born 30 December 1974) is a South African born international lawn bowls player from Namibia who was the 2003 World Singles Champion of Champions. Bowls career World Championships Calitz has competed for Namibia at five World Bowls C ...

was the winner of this title when he emerged victor of the World Champion of Champions tournament in 2003 in

Moama Moama ( or ) is a town in the Murray region of southern New South Wales, Australia, in the Murray River Council local government area. The town is directly across the Murray River from the larger town of Echuca in the neighbouring state of Vic ...

, Australia. Some of the major national tournaments include the annual National League, as well as the annual Namibia National Championships. In 2013, Namibia played host to the African States Tournament, a competition featuring seven countries from all over Africa. The National men's side is currently ranked 11th in the world.

Sailing

The Namibia Sailing Association is the national governing body for the sport of sailing in Namibia, serving at the discretion of the Namibian Sports Commission and recognised by World Sailing. The following are affiliated members: * Walvis Bay Yacht Club * Namib Kite & Windsurf Club * Luderitz Yacht Club * Nomad Sailing Club Windhoek * Skeleton Coast Surf Club

References

{{Africa in topic, Sport in