THE Bidvest Namibia Cup is a blessing for the Brave Warriors as they look ahead to crucial World Cup qualifiers this year, interim head coach Bernard Kaanjuka said.

Kaanjuka said the return of the competition would provide increased match practice for his underutilised charges.

"You know I have been complaining about the number of games our players play per season since last season and now that we have the Bidvest Cup, we will surely see more games for the players and increase their fitness and that can only be good for the national team," Kaanjuka said.

"Local-based players only played 22 matches last season and it was always sort of a challenge to beef up their fitness because their international opponents play more, but now we can breathe a sigh of relief," Kaanjuka said after the launch of the Bidvest Namibia Cup on Monday.

Kaanjuka also added that the competition - which starts this weekend with the preliminary round featuring lower-tier sides - would mean "a bigger sea to fish in", something he is very keen on.

"We now have a big pool of players once again to select from. Last season, it was only the premier league but now we have all kinds of leagues and players coming together and driven to succeed and give their best because of this cup and that can only be good for us." Kaanjuka explained.

The Brave Warriors are expected to take on Malawi in a 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifier at Windhoek's Independence Stadium on March 23.