President Nangolo Mbumba has encouraged Namibians to develop sports facilities such as stadiums and take care of them for the overall betterment of the country.
Dr. Mbumba undertook a site visit to the Ongos Valley and Sports Village on the outskirts of Windhoek today.
The envisaged Ongos Sports Village and Stadium, once constructed, hopes to serve as a venue for local, regional, and international sports events and foster local talent development.
The groundbreaking is expected to be done in August this year, and construction is to be carried out over 36 months.
It is designed to accommodate more than 30,000 spectators and is expected to feature a state-of-the-art soccer field, a 9-lane athletics track, and numerous facilities in accordance with FIFA technical standards.
President Mbumba commended the willpower of Ongos developers, emphasising the importance of infrastructure maintenance.
"We have to take care of our own places; we have to build our own cities and our own sports stadiums. We cannot be independent and dependent; it does not work. We cannot think that we will continue to win while your teams are playing outside; it does not work like that. Can you really live by getting food from somebody's house when in your own house you don't cook or cannot cook? It is the same thing. But today is a day we should celebrate the spirit of a sportsperson, the ambassadors really. You can go anywhere; it is not the MP whose name is known. Where are you coming from? It will be where Manetti, Shalulile, and Mboma, so we are all called upon to try our best in sports, construction, training, and above all, maintaining a structure that everyone can say, I am a citizen."
The Ongos Valley Sport Village developers say the stadium would be a government asset in the future, so it becomes more than a sporting facility.
Reagan Graig, Chairperson of Ongos Valley, says the infrastructure absence highlights the robust technical capability.
"I believe and I trust that you have seen that the houses, the roads, the dam, and other infrastructure did not exist, so this tells you about our robust technical background, and that should give you the comfort that we have the right skill set to deliver on this visionary dream."
Namibia's former and current sports stars and personalities, such as Frankie Fredericks, Sandro de Gouveia, Peter Shalulile, and Christine Mboma, among others, have been brought on board to represent the stadium development project as ambassadors.
"We want to deliberate, and we hope that everyone can buy into it, to bring about change because sports has the power to change a nation, both on and off the field."
The stadium development project has received financing backing from a combination of stakeholders, including government and private financiers.