Namibia’s Sports Act of 2003 could be headed for significant reform, with recommendations from a continental sports forum in Swakopmund set to feed directly into the ongoing review of the country’s sports legislation.
Deputy Minister of Sport Dino Ballotti told delegates at the 2026 Association of Sport Performance Centres (ASPC) Africa Continental Forum that their recommendations could help shape the law governing Namibian sport for years to come.
“Whatever you recommend today and tomorrow matters. It will shape the law that governs our sport for the next decade,” Ballotti said.
The forum, held at The MTC Dome from 1 to 3 October, brought together sports leaders, administrators, coaches, scientists and athletes from across Africa to discuss athlete development, women in sport, performance science, data-driven coaching and strategies for improving continental competitiveness.
Ballotti said the existing legislation contains outdated provisions that need to be addressed. He cited cricket as an example, saying ministry officials had been informed of a case involving a player who moved to Namibia at the age of three but could not represent the national team because he was not born in the country. “That is only one example of a dated Act that we are working hard to reform,” Ballotti said. He urged delegates to make practical recommendations rather than simply calling for increased infrastructure.
Ballotti also challenged sports federations to reduce their dependence on government funding. He called on each federation to secure at least one private-sector funding partnership during its next planning cycle.
“Government alone cannot sufficiently or adequately fund all the sports federations,” he said.
According to Ballotti, Namibia has 61 registered sports federations, including 32 Olympic codes.
He said athlete performances are also critical in strengthening the case for increased government funding during the mid-term budget review and the next financial year.
The minister pointed to the Desert Jewels’ qualification for the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney, saying the achievement was made possible through a partnership with Debmarine Namibia rather than government funding. He also revealed that the Namibian National Olympic Committee is engaging the oil and gas sector over the establishment of a high-performance centre and longer-term private investment ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“We are not here with a begging bowl. We are here to showcase an opportunity,” Ballotti told business leaders. ASPC Africa Chapter vice-president Steven Ball said the Swakopmund gathering was the organisation’s first African continental forum since before the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the first time, ASPC is holding continental forums on three continents in the same year, with events in Europe, the Americas and Africa. Ball said Africa’s projected population growth presents a major opportunity for sport. With Africa’s population currently around 1.5 billion and projected to approach 2.5 billion by 2050, he said the continent has an enormous potential talent pool.
“The question is not whether that talent exists. The question is whether the rest of the world is ready for it,” Ball said. He said meaningful improvements in sport do not always require major investments, pointing to basic issues such as paying coaches on time and publishing selection criteria when they are due.
Namibia Sport Commission chief administrator Dr Freddy Mwiya said approximately 40 federations registered for the event, while chairpersons of all 14 regional sport structures were invited. A total of 117 podium-performing athletes were also invited.
Running alongside the forum was the 2026 Namibia Sport Expo, which brought together federations, sporting organisations, businesses and other stakeholders to showcase activities, products and opportunities.
The Expo began in Benin in 2019 and has been hosted in partnership with The Dome under an agreement signed in 2022. This year marked its seventh edition. The event also featured sporting activities, including a high-jump competition and volleyball finals. Mwiya said the objective must be to ensure that such gatherings translate into action. “Every conference we run must not become business as usual. It must have an impact,” he said.
With the recommendations now expected to feed into the Sports Act review, the Swakopmund forum could prove to be more than a three-day sporting conference, it could become a starting point for rewriting the rules under which Namibian sport operates.
By Rudi Bowe
