Namibia Football Federation (NFF) are on the verge of appointing Scottish Simon Mc Menemy as their new coach for the national team, Africa Top Sports can exclusively reveal.
In an interview with Menemy’s agent, who did not want to be named, the two parties have already reached an agreement for the 45-year-old to take charge at the Brave Warriors and he would likely start work on January 1, 2024.
“We have already agreed on everything, the contract is done and dusted, salary is already agreed on, accommodation is also done, so anything related to cash is no problem,” the agent told Africa Top Sports, adding: “The duration is what is holding us back.”
Asked to explain further, the agent said: “We want two years for the coach but Namibia are asking for a year option, so it is what is currently holding us back but otherwise, I am sure everything will be sorted soon and the contract will officially start on January 1, so he will be on his way to Namibia.”
The agent further confirmed that Menemy, who started his career in coaching as manager of Sussex County league club Haywards Heath Town, was supposed to take over as the coach of Namibia three years ago but the Covid-19 pandemic scattered the move.
Menemy has previously had spells as manager of Bhayangkara, Maldivian side New Radiant, Indonesia Super League club Pelita Bandung Raya, Mitra Kukar in Indonesia, Dong Tam Long An in Vietnam, Loyola Meralco Sparks in the Philippines, the Philippines national team and the Indonesia national team.
His first job in football was for Brighton & Hove Albion as a development officer and then worked for Sportswear giants Nike. He was the assistant coach of the English non-league football side Worthing before moving on to management.
On December 20, 2018, McMenemy was appointed by the Football Association of Indonesia as the head coach of the national team, replacing Bima Sakti. PSSI decided to sack McMenemy on November 6, 2019, over the national team’s deteriorating performance during the 2022 World Cup qualification, shortly after Indonesia was awarded hosting rights for the 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Namibia kicked off their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign for Africa with a 1-0 defeat against Equatorial Guinea and then recovered to beat Sao Tome and Principe 2-0 in their second Group H fixture.