Lack of funds for the Namibian judo team is likely to see the national team miss out on the Commonwealth Judo Championships slated for April in South Africa.

The judo event for all Commonwealth nations and regions is set to take place in April 23-28 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa and this will be the first time the competition will be held on African soil.

Namibian Judo Federation (NJF) President Roman Bock said on Friday that the federation does not have sufficient funds to participate in the prestigious championships.

"This could have been our chance to shine on an international level, as we could have had a chance to upgrade ourselves as we are currently ranked low, due to the fact that we do not take part in major competitions," he said.

"We often usually participate in regional competitions in Zambia and South Africa. But for us to grow and even to make it to spotlight events like go to the Olympics, we need exposure and participate in other big tournament," he added.

According to Bock they can not financially attend to the games despite getting an invite to participate and their federation was set to send about15 judokas.

"Lack of sponsorships will result in the sport never ever growing in Namibia," Bock said.

Meanwhile South Africa won the rights to host the event after shrugging off competition from India and Scotland. Endi

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