Image by Namibian Times
Namibia has become the first African country to sign an Olympic cooperation agreement with South Korea. The deal gives a small, thinly resourced Olympic movement access to one of the world’s most successful high-performance systems, two years out from Los Angeles 2028.
NNOC-CGA president Ndeulipula Hamutumwa and Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) president Ryu Seung-min signed the agreement on Tuesday in Dakar, on the sidelines of the Youth Olympic Games. According to the Namibian committee, the KSOC has not signed a deal of this kind with any other African national Olympic committee.
The agreement covers joint training camps, coach development, sports science and sports medicine, and exchanges of coaches, officials and administrators. It focuses on sports where Korea has a long record of winning: archery, taekwondo, fencing, shooting and badminton.
Archery is where Namibia has the most to gain
The country took seven medals at the African Archery Championships in Oran in July, its best performance at the event, and its compound archers are now aiming for LA28.
No money is involved, and the agreement isn’t built to make any. Its value lies in costs Namibia avoids. For a smaller Olympic committee, building elite coaching, medical and sports science support across five disciplines at once would be a significant undertaking. Korean camps and exchanges bring that expertise within reach. Hamutumwa has made private-sector funding a priority since taking office in 2024, and a link to a top-tier Olympic system gives Namibia a stronger pitch to sponsors.
According to multiple reports, Namibia also pursued partnerships with China, India, Botswana and Kazakhstan in Dakar.
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