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Text: Magda Arvelos
Photo: Júlio Marcos

Edição 78 Março/Abril| Download.

Anabela Cossa – When talent births passion

Success stories start in many ways, some even by mere chance. And it was precisely by chance that Anabela Adriano Cossa discovered basketball, a sport that established her as one of the country’s greatest stars. Passionate about soccer since childhood, it was thanks to her sister Alice – who took her to one of her training sessions – that she had her first contact with basketball. “The coach gave me a ball so I could play with it, and in that instant he saw something in me.”

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Despite her newfound talent, Anabela refused to give up the passion she had for the “king sport”, something that was fuelled by her older brother, who also took her to watch his training sessions and games. But because what has to be inevitably will be, she gave in to the insistence of Carlos Namutapia, her sister’s coach, who ended up convincing her parents that her place was in the basketball court. The only condition was she must remain dedicated to her studies. The rest, as they say, is history!

Today, at age 36, the basketball player – who graduated in Business Management and works as a Civil Servant – boasts a remarkable career that includes participations in several championships and a number of awards. Currently sporting the green-and-white colours of Maputo’s Clube Ferroviário, Anabela says that her plans, for now, are to continue to make her contribution to achieving collective goals, but also her individual ones, both nationally and internationally.

With a long career that gave her endless memories, the athlete joyfully recalls her first trip as a player. “It was the first time I was travelling without my family, everything was new. I was 16 years old and it was the first time I was on a plane… I had to share a room with girls my age who used to be my rivals. Competing with other countries… Getting to know Cape Verde… for me it was all a dream.”

Speaking of dreams, Anabela’s ended up coming true in the most natural of ways. An unconditional fan of Deolinda Ngulela since, at the age of 16, she saw the athlete at the UEM pavilion while training for the under-16 team, she ended up having her in her life! “My passion for her grew even more when I saw her play for the national team in 2003, here in Maputo. Years later, I fulfilled the dream of having her as a colleague at the club and in the national team, and today she is my coach for the national team.” It can’t get better than that!

Divided between basketball, public administration and family, Anabela believes that when you do things with love, everything becomes easier, and she believes that to succeed you need more than talent. “I assume that, as everything else in life, one must be dedicated, have passion for what we do, discipline, competence, humility, delivery and be competitive.”

Pleased with the unconditional support she has always received from the public, Anabela regrets that the health of this sport in the country is not at its best. But, despite the challenges, Anabela remains passionate about basketball and even leaves a message for girls who want to walk the same path: “Have fun, because for me basketball is and will always be joy and passion. Commit to training, have discipline, focus and respect. Never stop studying, because school also contributes a lot to our success.”

▶  Participations in Championships and Awards:

2002: First call for the national team, in Cape Verde, aged 16. Result: 2nd place
2004: First National Championship with Desportivo de Maputo
2006: Under-20 African Championship, in Maputo. Result: 2nd place
2007 and 2008: Africa Clubs Champion with Desportivo
2012: Africa Clubs Champion with Liga Desportiva
2013: Participation in the African Championship, in Maputo; Mozambique’s selection, for the first time, to the Basketball World Cup
2018: African Champion with Ferroviário

Edição 78 Março/Abril| Download.

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