Namibia National Team: Brave Warriors Football Squad, Fixtures and African Kick Off Times

The Namibia national team, known as the Brave Warriors, is the senior men's football side of Namibia, run by the Namibia Football Association and competing in CAF and the COSAFA region of Southern Africa. They appeared at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1998, 2008, 2019 and 2023, reached the knockout rounds for the first time in 2023 and won the COSAFA Cup in 2015. South African readers searching for the Namibia soccer team are in the right place, and so are fans in Lagos, Nairobi, Accra and Kampala checking a fixture before kick off.

Below, you will find the story from the first international in 1989 to the 2023 knockout round, the players to know, the records with their years, and how to read the fixtures, results and qualifying table that sit above and update after every match. If you follow the South African Premiership, you probably know more about the Brave Warriors than you think.

Who Are the Brave Warriors, and Who Runs Them?

The Brave Warriors are Namibia's senior men's team, organised by the Namibia Football Association and entered in CAF competitions as well as the regional COSAFA Cup. Namibia sit in the same Southern African football family as South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe and Botswana, so the regional derbies carry real weight with supporters. That being said, the team's identity is also shaped by distance, because a large share of the squad plays abroad and much of the support follows the side on screens.

The timeline is short and easy to follow. The team played its first international on 16 May 1989 as South West Africa, losing by a single goal at home to Angola, and then faced Zimbabwe on 23 March 1990, two days after independence from South Africa. The first win took a little longer, arriving on 1 July 1994 with a one goal friendly victory away to Botswana. By 1998, Namibia were at their first Africa Cup of Nations and had played their first match outside Africa, a narrow loss to Saudi Arabia in France on 17 May. A COSAFA title in 2015 and a debut run to the African Nations Championship quarter finals in 2018 have followed.

How Have Namibia Done at the Africa Cup of Nations?

Namibia appeared at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1998, 2008, 2019 and 2023, and the 2023 edition was their best. The first three appearances ended in the group stage. The 1998 finals put Namibia in the same group as South Africa, and the 2008 finals brought a group meeting with hosts Ghana, so both countries carry a direct tournament memory of the Brave Warriors.

The defining match, for me, is the 2023 Round of 16, even though Angola won it by three goals to nil. It is the game I would point to if anyone asked what Namibia are about, because reaching it meant surviving a group for the first time, and the opponent closed a loop that began with that first international against Angola in 1989. More than three decades separate the two matches. So, when Namibia return to the finals, the knockout round is now the floor they will want to stand on, and a quarter final is the next line waiting in the record book.

Why Have Namibia Never Reached a World Cup?

The qualifying module shows the places available in their competition and the route through each stage. The 2026 cycle ended without a place for the Brave Warriors.

What would change it? In my opinion, it comes down to depth more than stars. Shalulile's CAF Champions League experience and Hotto's international career offer examples for other Namibian players to build on. More Namibians playing regular minutes in the South African Premiership and further afield could broaden the options available for qualifying matches. Namibia's ranking history includes 68th in November 1998 and 167th in July 2006.

Who Are the Namibia Players to Watch?

Peter Shalulile is the name to know first, and South African readers will recognise him straight away. The striker won the PSL Footballer of the Year award in 2020/21 and took the league's Golden Boot in 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23, sharing it in two of those seasons. He was the top scorer in the CAF Champions League in 2022/23 and lifted that trophy with Mamelodi Sundowns in 2025/26, collecting league titles along the way. That is why Sundowns supporters watch Namibia's international windows so closely, because a goal for the Brave Warriors is a fair sign of the form Shalulile carries back to Pretoria.

Deon Hotto is the other pillar, a wide player who also built his career in the South African Premiership. His work out wide and Shalulile's movement through the middle give readers two different attacking roles to follow in the lineup. Around the two of them, the squad mixes players based in South Africa, others spread across African and European leagues, and a home based group from the Namibian game, all listed by club and position in the squad module above. It could be argued that the quickest way to read a Namibia squad is to look first at who plays in the PSL, because those players tend to bring the pace and physical level that continental matches demand. Namibia's player entries carry updating caps and goals alongside their club details.

How Do You Read Namibia’s AFCON Qualifying Table?

The qualifying module identifies Namibia’s competition and group. In Namibia's group table (or log for South African readers), the points column awards three for a victory and one for a draw. Check the qualification places and tie breaking rules shown for the competition. Read those details alongside Namibia's results to understand how each group position is decided.

For Kenyan and Ugandan readers, Kenya and Uganda's selection alongside Tanzania as hosts of the 2027 finals provides an East African connection. Nigerian and Ghanaian readers can use Namibia's group listing to check for meetings with the Super Eagles or the Black Stars. The fixtures module identifies the competition for each match. Its competition labels distinguish Namibia's AFCON qualifiers, World Cup qualifiers, regional matches and friendlies.

Who Holds the Namibia Records?

Read individual records alongside the dates attached to them: caps count international appearances, while scoring records count goals for the national side. The records module keeps the updating holders and totals together. The dated milestones include an eight goals to two victory over Benin in Windhoek on 15 July 2000. Namibia also lost by eight goals to two against Egypt in Alexandria on 13 July 2001. Namibia's ranking milestones recorded through 2026 included a high of 68th in November 1998, the year of their first Africa Cup of Nations, and a low of 167th in July 2006.

Where and When Do Namibia Play, and Where Can You Watch?

The fixtures module identifies the venue for each match. Windhoek shares Johannesburg's clock, so a Namibia fixture starting at 15:00 in Windhoek corresponds to 14:00 WAT, 16:00 EAT, 15:00 SAST and 13:00 GMT. Those times cover Lagos, Nairobi and Kampala, Johannesburg, and Accra respectively. Use the four zone entries beside Namibia's fixture when the venue is elsewhere in Africa. The listed date and competition distinguish tournament games from matches in international windows.

Broadcaster details beside Namibia's fixtures identify viewing options for readers in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda. Check the entry for your country and the particular competition, as coverage can differ between matches. Namibia's results and lineup entries provide the score and selected players alongside the fixture information. An empty broadcaster entry means the listing does not yet identify an option for that country. Explore the national teams guide for Namibia's regional opponents and other African sides.

What Have Namibia Won at the COSAFA Cup, and Who Are Their Rivals?

The COSAFA Cup is where Namibia have their trophy, winning it in 2015, and where they have most often gone deep, finishing runners up in 1997, 1999, 2022 and 2024. The tournament brings together the Southern African nations, and for many South African fans it is the most likely place to see the Brave Warriors face Bafana Bafana. Because COSAFA squads often lean on home based players, it is also a showcase for the Namibians who are not yet in the PSL and would like to be.

The rivalries follow the map. South Africa are the big neighbour, with meetings that include the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations and regular COSAFA ties since. Angola were the first opponents in 1989 and the side that ended the 2023 run, which makes it, in my opinion, the fixture with the most story in it. Zimbabwe were the first opponents after independence, and Botswana gave Namibia their first win in 1994, so each of the four neighbours has a date in the record book. Namibia's head to head entries track the totals as further meetings are played.

Who Coaches Namibia, and How Do They Play?

Collin Benjamin was appointed head coach in 2022 and led the team at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, the campaign that produced the first knockout round. In my opinion, Namibia's approach during that tournament made good use of Shalulile's movement and Hotto's running: a compact shape without the ball and quick transitions once it was won. That approach offered a route to chances in closely contested matches. Namibia's confirmed lineup identifies the selected players and formation for each fixture.

Is It the Namibia Football Team or the Brave Warriors?

Both are right, and readers use both. Searches from Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana usually ask for the Namibia national team or Namibia at AFCON, South African searches lean towards the Brave Warriors, the Namibia squad and Bafana Bafana against Namibia, and Ugandan readers tend to arrive through fixtures and the FIFA ranking. Whatever you typed, the squad, fixtures, results and records above all belong to the same senior men's side run by the Namibia Football Association. If you came in through a Namibia against Nigeria or Namibia against Ghana search, start with the fixtures module, then come back to the records panel for the history behind the match.