Erasmus Shalihaxwe
Okahandja Football Club ladies’ head coach Richard April has cautioned rising star Tamara Renalda Hangula against moving too early to bigger teams showing interest in her.
April made the remarks over the weekend while speaking about preparations for the upcoming 2025/26 Women’s Super League season.
Hangula (16) is already a regular in the national under-17 and under-20 teams.
Known as ‘diamond’ in the football circles, she has scored six goals for Okahandja FC and has attracted interest from clubs such as Nust Babes, Windhoek City Ladies, Arrows Ladies, and African Stars Queens in Oshakati.
April said he wants the best for the young striker but believes she needs more time to develop.
“She’s still young and has a lot to learn. I’m not sure she’s ready to move yet, and I hope we can keep her for another one or two seasons so she can develop further and continue helping her parent club. Our players need to play more games to grow their skills, I’m not certain she would get as much game time elsewhere,” he said.
He added that Okahandja FC has a squad of mostly young players aged between 13 and 23, with a long-term development plan of three to five years focusing on technical improvement.
“Diamond still needs to work closely with our attacking coach, Kenny Malgas, who is doing an excellent job developing our strikers. Coach Ray Classen handles our midfielders, while Coach Bishop contributes to our technical work. Our staff works hard around these young girls to ensure steady progress. As her coach, I would like her to stay, but ultimately, the decision rests with the club’s sports director and committee members. I trust they will make the right call,” April said.
