The Backroom Staff - Academy Director: Andries Hermanus Lawal Naobeb

Academy Director: Andries Hermanus Lawal Naobeb

Giving back and building the future of Namibian football

Andries Hermanus Lawal Naobeb is the co-founder, vice chairman and acting technical director at Swallows Football Club in Windhoek, Namibia. For over 15 years, Andries has dedicated himself to grassroots football and youth development, using the sport to inspire and uplift young boys and girls in his community.

Andries’ impact can also be felt nationally - Swallows have become a consistent producer of youth national team players playing a significant role in the overall growth of Namibian football over the last decade.

In this interview, Andries tells me about his mission to help his community through football, the challenges and obstacles of running a non-profit football club, the state of Namibian football and his goals for the future.

The interview has been condensed and lightly edited for grammar and clarity. 

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[ Background ]

I was born in the northeast of Namibia but I grew up in the capital of Windhoek. This is where my love for football started. In primary school, I also played rugby and hockey but by high school, I focused completely on football. I managed to play in the First Division for some time and we qualified for the Premier League but I couldn’t continue because I had work conflicts.

During our matches, we noticed all these young boys and girls behind the goals, they were so talented! I decided if I can’t play anymore, let me help the young kids from our region, our community. With my friend Lazarus, we decided to open this football academy.

At first, we had just a few players, including my little sister, brother, my own young son and a few other boys. We decided, let’s just put them together and take part in a youth tournament hosted by SKW. When we spoke to the organizers, they said we could take part for free - but on one condition, we had to help organize an U8 team. (we only had an U13 team) We went house to house looking for players!

We thought the U13s could win but it was the U8s who won the whole tournament! That team was really talented, they won more tournaments and the league at U9 level. They’re the reason we are known today.

[ How did this initial success lead to you starting a full fledged youth club? ]

One of the main reasons why we also started this is, in our location, the suburbs we’re living in - every second house is a shebeen. And then, every second corner more or less, is where they are selling drugs as well. We grew up in a neighborhood that was labeled ‘unfriendly’.

But in our neighborhood, we have good boxers, rugby players, football - good athletes. They only need someone from the neighborhood who understands them to help them realize this talent.

So, we saw the talent of these kids, we know football and we played football growing up in the neighborhood. We just decided to just try to do something to support and thank these kids for the talent they were showing.

[ How have things progressed since you started in 2008? ]

In 2008, the Youth League was just starting in Namibia. It started all the way from U8 and every age group had to play - this was different to the ‘old’ system of school football. This was supported by the FA and this helped us to a certain degree.

But it hasn’t been easy. We are using the local school’s pitch, it’s a gravel pitch, which is not too nice but we had to play on it. And the kids' love for football was more than the situation we were facing.

Once, while we were using the school facilities for training. Trucks came with a lot of waste and dumped it where we were training. This was one of the biggest setbacks we’ve ever had. We had to negotiate with the school - ultimately, they allowed us to clear the field on the condition that we clean a certain part of the school after the rainy season. It’s tricky because if a new principal comes in, we will probably have to re-negotiate. But we can’t go anywhere else because most of the kids are nearby - and we have love for the school too - I also attended this school!

Still, we started to have some success, people started noticing that we were doing the right things for the kids. Then we met this guy Mr. Amos - a former Brave Warriors and Civics player - when we played against his kid in another club. He came and took photos and helped us build a fence around our field and improve it. It was just really nice.

Just before COVID started, we were trying to get an artificial turf field installed. There was a donor from Singapore willing to send us used turf but unfortunately, the pandemic stopped the whole thing. I believe we’ll do it one day.

Our first team is now in the second division (youth) at U19 level and we’ve had players in the youth men’s and women's national teams.

[ How many teams/age groups does the club have now? ]

We have teams from U7 all the way to U19. Currently, the teams are a mixture of girls and boys but we’re currently planning an U10 girls team because we have a lot of talented players.

[ Are other clubs doing this too - mixing girls and boys on the same team? ]

When we started, I knew of only 2 teams that had girls in their teams. But it’s becoming more common for girls to play and for parents to encourage their girls to play. Now most teams have girls in their teams. We’re happy this is something we helped start.

[ Are you still coaching at the club? ]

I'm the co-founder and vice chairman at Swallows Football Club. I'm also acting as the technical director, am a CAF B license holder and have been coaching for years.

I’ve been with the men’s and women’s youth national teams too. In 2016, when we won the COSAFA U17 Championship, that team had 4 Swallows players. When the U15 girls went to China for the Youth Olympics, we had 2 girls from Swallows in that team. When the U20s qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time, we had 4 on that team as well!

We have some great coaches at the club, all volunteers.

[ How is Swallows funded? ]

To be clear, Swallows is not a football academy like other academies, we are a football development academy. The difference is in football academies, players are paying to play football and be coached. With us, we’re a charity, we’re a registered NGO. We know the players' backgrounds, we know the situation at home. We know that if we charge even 100 dollars, maybe only 3 out of our 150 kids will come. Our coaches are volunteers as well.

It’s a struggle when we go and play tournaments. We have to look for donations. When it comes to playing kit, for example, we have to ask left, right and center. When we compete in Youth League games, we are always playing in towns around Windhoek that are maybe a 30 or 40 minute drive from where we are. Most of the time we ask the boys to bring 30 NAD (~1.60 USD) to help pay for the transport. They can’t always bring it but any bit helps! We also get some help from people who have a kombi or bakkie to help drive the players.

We have a couple of people who have been helping out a lot too. Paul Gurirab helped a lot when it came to playing kit - he got us a sponsor for last year’s kit. And then, Amos Shiyuka . Amos has been there since the beginning and helped a lot, especially getting the field. He’s the man! I’m honestly really proud and I want to say thank you to Amos for what he’s been doing for us. May God bless him! Debmarine Namibia we also would really like to say thanks for taking us to the Swakopmund tournament. There are so many to say thanks to, thank you all.

We are trying everything and don’t give up on asking for sponsors. We write letters all the time to help us cover the costs of traveling outside the city for tournaments. Now, for example, we are asking for sponsorship for a tournament in September.

[ Namibian football has had some of its best performances in the last decade or so - is football growing in Namibia? ]

Yeah, football is really growing in Namibia. Even though we are still amateurs, football has changed. Now, you see at least some of the teams have became semi-professional and teams training a lot more.

Also in the national teams, especially at youth level it’s different. Previously, if you didn’t play in a Lower League, you were never selected. Now, we have a new, youthful minded coach, Collin Benjamin. He’s willing to look at players in the second division. He’ll say, ‘hey Coach Lawal, how are you? I need a left back, can you recommend somebody for me?’ So the communication is open, he might ask any coach and is willing to listen.

[ What are your longer term goals for the club and for yourself? ]

Again, I will be honest, there was a time when we wanted to stop the whole thing. But always, our long term goal is helping talent. I’m just guiding these boys and girls. If I could help 3, 4, 5 players off the street and be a professional one day, or 1 or 2 international players as a bonus, and someone can say, ‘Coach Lawal was the one who helped me off the street, that’s my goal.

Another dream is to get a sponsor for our facilities. Our big challenge here in Namibia is the fields, we don’t have them! We really struggle to get to fields because, around us, it’s too expensive to have a proper field. So, if by chance anyone is listening and they can help us have an artificial pitch, that would definitely help us!

I’m also studying sports management and will be doing Level 6 this year. Hopefully, one day, I’ll become a FIFA accredited football agent.

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