By: Hee-Dee Walenga
Chief Administrator of the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC), Dr. Simataa Mwiya, revealed that the Commission has paid the athletes that have represented Namibia a total of N$774,000 for their achievements during the first quarter of 2026.
Dr. Mwiya was speaking at a media briefing on the National Sports Rewards of the 2025/2026. Namibia implemented the National Sport Reward Policy in 2018. According to Dr. Mwiya, Namibia is one of only three nations in SADC that have such a legislation in place for athletes (Botswana & South Africa).
The federations that received payment for this cycle are: Athletics Namibia, Namibia Wrestling Federation, Namibia Full Contact Martial Arts Federation, Namibia Inline Hockey, and Special Olympics Namibia.
The Special Olympics Namibia women’s football team, the Unified Gladiators, won a gold medal in the Women’s Division 2 at the Special Olympics Unified Football World Cup in Paris, France. It was Namibia’s first ever gold in the division. The team was awarded N$250,000 by the commission.
Dr. Mwiya highlighted that simply representing Namibia and winning a competition does not automatically qualify an athlete or federation for financial compensation. “It does not mean when you just win a gold medal, you are awarded. We are honoring based on merit. Before you travel, you are already going to be informed whether you qualify [for compensation]. You must meet the requirements and be told that this type of championship qualifies you for compensation,” Dr. Mwiya explained.
Dr. Mwiya stated that the NSC will not award athletes for participating in “fly by night competitions.”
“The Reward Policy is a commitment to uplift the well-being of our athletes and coaches,” said Acting Director of the Namibia National Sports Rewards, Hendrick Mapele. The Director added that the policy was created to provide a vehicle that allows Namibia’s best athletes to earn money for their sporting achievements.
“In today’s world, sport has become an industry that creates employment for our youth and takes them away from social evils,” he said. “If we want to make sure that the athletes are winning medals, we need to encourage them,” Mapele added.
As a form of encouragement, Dr. Mwiya also revealed how much the Namibians participating at the Commonwealth Games stand to earn, should they medal. Gold medalists will receive N$500,000. Silver and bronze medalists will receive N$300,000 and N$200,000 respectively.
