Athiel Mbaha

Having started his career at African Stars in 1998, Mbaha joined fellow Namibia Premier League side Blue Waters in 2003, where he won the Namibia Premier League in his first season at the club. Following a further two years at the club, Mbaha joined South African Premier Division side Black Leopards in 2006, and became a regular player at the club in the early parts of the season. However, he left Black Leopards in January 2007 when his contract with the club was not renewed, having made 8 appearances for the club. In the summer of 2007, he returned to Namibia, signing for Namibia Premier League side Orlando Pirates. He remained at Orlando Pirates for a year and won the Namibia Premier League with the club, the club's first ever title. In August 2008, Mbaha joined South African side Maritzburg United. However, his appearances at the club were limited and he was back-up to American goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap for most of the season, and made just 3 league appearances as a result. Mbaha would eventually return to Orlando Pirates in the summer of 2009. Mbaha joined Ramblers in the summer of 2010, and remained at the club for two years, before joining United Africa Tigers in 2012. Mbaha won the Namibia Premier League for the third time in the 2014–15 season, and he also won the Best Goalkeeper of the Season award for that season. He left the club at the end of the 2015–16 season. ==International career==

Mbaha made his debut for the Namibia national football team on 19 March 2005 in an international friendly match against Lesotho, in which Namibia won 2–1. He would become a regular player for Namibia, appearing in the 2006 and 2007 COSAFA Cup tournaments, as well as the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, as Namibia qualified for only their second major tournament of their history, alongside multiple international friendlies. During 2008, Mbaha went on to appear in the 2008 COSAFA Cup as well as Namibia's failed 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification bid. ==Personal life==

Mbaha has been deaf since the age of seven. He usually communicated with his teammates through screaming at them, whilst fellow Namibia goalkeeper Ephraim Tjihonge often helped him to communicate. Mbaha plays chess, having first taken up the board game in 2013, and is a member of the Namibia Chess Federation. Since retiring from football, Mbaha has taught chess to young people in his community. ==References==