Latest News from the Namibian Press
Civics shock Stars Submitted by Helge Schutz, 12/04/2009
Black Africa beat SKW after great comeback - by Helge Schutz
More prize money for Leo NFA Cup - by Helge Schutz
Akan resigns from Black Africa - by Helge Schutz
Arrows, Stars match abandoned - Submitted by Helge Schutz
SKW schießt sich zum Rekordsieg AZ - online vom 23.11.2009
Civics' woes continue - by Helge Schutz Namibia Sport Magazin
Gutsy Warriors bow out of Cosafa with boots on - by C Kambaekwa
SKW go third after beating Hotspurs Submitted by Helge Schutz

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Arrows, Pirates through to NFA Cup final Submitted by Helge Schutz Sat, 05/30/2009

Eleven Arrows and Orlando Pirates qualified for the final of the Cell One NFA Cup after beating Cymot SKW and Ramblers respectively on Saturday. Arrows beat SKW 6-5 on penalties after neither side could score a goal in regulation time or extra time.

SKW captain Marco van Wyk missed a sitter early on when he received a great throughball from Edwin Korukuve, but with only the keeper to beat he shot wide. In the final minute of regulation time Tara Katupose came close for Arrows, hitting the crossbar with a piledriver from about 20m.

In the final minute of extra time Arrows seemed to have scored the winner when Muna Katupose headed in from a corner, but the referee disallowed the goal, apparently because the ball had hit the sidenetting, although it clearly did not. Luckily for Arrows, the blunder did not prove too costly as they went on to win a tense penalty shootout. With all the players succeeding with their spot kicks, the shootout went down to sudden death until Arrows keeper Virgil Vries saved Gunther von Hundelshausen’s shot to put them into the final.

Pirates beat Ramblers in thriller

The second encounter between Pirates and Ramblers was a thrilling affair as Pirates came from a goal down to win the match 3-2. Pirates applied the early pressure with John Samson, Stanley Kamesiepo and Johannes Seibeb all putting in strong attacks. Pirates’ pressure finally paid off when Kamesiepo whipped in a cross and Klaas Blom found the net with a glancing header. Ramblers were however soon on level terms when striker Chama Kaira was fouled in the box and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Nelson Akwenye made no mistake, sending Pirates keeper Heribert Kapeng the wrong way to level the score. Pirates’ defender Mohammed Ouseb replaced the injured midfielder Neville Nanub at the end of the first half and he soon made an impact on the game. The second half got off to a dramatic startas three goals were scored within the first four minutes. Ramblers immediately took a 2-1 lead when Nelson Akwenye whipped in a great cross to Jeremia Baisako, who beat Kapeng with a close range header. Two minutes later Pirates were level when Ouseb headed in from a corner, and then barely a minute he turned provider, sending in a great cross that John Samson met with a spectacular flying header that hit the back of the net. Ramblers pushed hard for the equaliser, with Baisako, Kaira and Bernadine Mbilizi all coming close in the final stages, but they could not break through as Pirates held on for victory.


The final Brave Warriors squad for the match against the DR Congo is as follows:

Namibia international friendly against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at Windhoek’s Independence Stadium on Saturday, 15h00.

Goalkeepers
Athiel Mbaha, Abisai Shinigayamwe, Virgil Vries.

Defenders:
George Hummel, Hartman Toromba, Ivan Namaseb, Steven Goaxub, Richard Gariseb, Nelson Geingob, Ralph Ellinger.

Midfielders:
Ninja Karongee, Quinton Jacobs, Rudi Louw, Paulus Shipanga, Eslin Kamuhanga, Edward Asino.

Strikers
Rudolph Bester, Heini Isaacs, Henrico Botes.

Arrows, SKW draw Submitted by Helge Schütz

The Namibia Premier League title race remained wide open on Sunday as the top two teams drew their matches on Sunday. Log leaders African Stars drew 1-1 against Eleven Arrows at the Kuisebmund Stadium while second placed Cymot SKW drew 1-1 against Chief Santos in Tsumeb.

The result means that African Stars still hold a point advantage over SKW at the top of the log, while Stars have three matches remaining and SKW two till the end of the league.

In Kuisebmund Stars were rather lucky to hold Arrows to a draw in a controversial match.

In a hard fought match in front of a packed stadium, Arrows took the lead midway through the second half through a goal by Sheya Andimba.

Stars however showed great character to fight back as captain Andrew Tjahikika grabbed the equaliser with 10 minutes remaining.

Arrows were however hard done by as they had a second half goal by Rudolph Bester disallowed. According to Arrows’ owner JJ Doeseb, winger Freedom Puriza broke clear into the penalty box where he was fouled. Rudolph Bester however pounced on the loose ball to score a goal, but it was disallowed apparently for offside.

Doeseb however was rather unhappy that Arrows were not awarded a penalty for the foul on Puriza.

In Tsumeb, Chief Santos held second-placed Cymot SKW to a draw. Marco van Wyk gave SKW the lead on 60m but Chief Santos replied through Ricardo Witbeen 12 minutes later.



Bravo! Warriors ...Namibia 4 – 0 DRC - by Carlos Kambaekwa

WINDHOEK – The Namibian senior football team, the Brave Warriors, as the team is affectionately known amongst its ardent followers, put up one of its best performances in recent years.

The 128th ranked Warriors put up a near faultless display that saw them sending the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), ranked 44 places above them, packing in an action packed International Friendly at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek on Saturday.

Buoyed by a partisan home crowd, Tom Saintfiet’s lads showed very little respect, if any, to their more fancied opponents who compounded matters when they mysteriously arrived in Windhoek just hours before kick-off.

Saintfiet showed his hand in the finer techniques of modern football and proved to his detractors that he is not your every Tom around the corner.

The youthful Belgian mentor’s much criticized defensive tactics proved to be the catalyst for Namibia’s march to victory as the team played with more caution and gave nothing away with an experienced four-man defence, masterfully manned by George Hummel, Hartman Toromba, Richard Gariseb and Nelson Geingob.
Despite showing signs of fatigue at times, the visitors were certainly no pushovers and had the Namibians’ rearguard on the back foot, notably when attacking on the left flank but the hosts stood their ground and kept the rampant DRC attackers at bay with rock-steady defending.

Warriors skipper Quinton “Magic” Jacobs showed once again that he has very little peers if any in domestic football when it comes to ball distribution.

The highly skillful but sometimes volatile midfield kingpin had the near capacity crowd on the edge of their seats with his defence splitting passes that were reminiscent of former Kaizer Chiefs beefy midfielder “Isaac Shakes” Kungwane at his best.

Jacobs attacked space with long range telling passes and had it not been for some woeful shooting by the trio of Eslin Kamuhanga and Rudolph Magic “Feet Bester” and Henrico Botes – the hosts could have taken a healthy lead at the break.

The Warriors took a well-deserved lead through a thunderous shot by captain fantastic Jacobs, who latched onto a loose ball on the edge of the penalty box after a goalmouth melee – leaving the Congolese goalkeeper Manga catching flies (1-0).

Namibia started where they left off in the second half and the crowd had hardly settled when Jacobs teed up Bester on the left with another copybook delivery. Bester took his time and picked his spot before planting the ball neatly into the back of the net to send the appreciative crowd into raptures (2-0).

Saintfiet unleashed his secret weapon in Heini Isaacks and the Civics’ stylish goal poacher immediately announced his arrival when he majestically controlled a cleverly worked out cross from Bester before he let fly with a cracking left footer that left the Congolese goalkeeper sprawling on the turf (3-0).

The Civilians’ target man was not done and completed his brace with a classic lobbed goal in the top left corner of the net from an awkward angle to make it 4-0 to all but fuse off any further interest the out of sorts visitors might have had in the contest
Stars finally win the league Submitted by Helge Schutz

African Stars finally won the Namibia Premier League title when they drew 1-all against Orlando Pirates at Windhoek’s Independence Stadium on Wednesday night. Heinrich Kazerua gave Stars an 18th minute lead with a cracking shot, but Stanley Kamesiepo equalised 14 minutes later after a quick counterattack.

Pirates laid on the pressure in the final stages, while referee Jimmy Rukanyira added to the tension by allowing more than five minutes of injury time. Stars’ defence however stood firm and with Stars’ fans going crazy on their vuvuzelas, Rukanyira eventually blew the final whistle.

The draw gave Stars a four point lead at the top of the log and with only one round of matches remaining, they cannot be overhauled anymore.

In another match on Wednesday, SKW’s faint hopes of challenging for the title disappeared when they lost 1-0 to Civics at the SKW Stadium. Eslin Kamuhanga scored Civics’ winner a minute from full time.

But all the drama unfolded at the Independence Stadium, barely a kilometre away as about 4 000 predominantly Stars fans turned up to cheer their team on.

Stars did the early attacking with Rudi Louw, Jamu Ngatjizeko and Ninja Karongee combining well in midfield. Louw had an early shot saved while Brouwers Litombo headed narrowly over the bar after latching on to Kazerua’s cross.

At the other end a John Samson header was well saved by Max Mbaeva, but it was Stars who took the lead through a cracking shot by Kazerua. From a long upfield clearance, the ball bounced loose in Pirates’ box and Kazerua pounced to slam it into the net from about 25m out.

Stars’ fans roared their approval and they continued to attack with an Edison Muheua cross being punched clear by Pirates keeper Helmuth Maletsky, while Andrew Tjahikika headed narrowly over the crossbar from a freekick.

But Pirates struck back on 32m when they launched a quick counter attack and Stanley Kamesiepo hit the back of the net with a fine shot after being put clear by Nicodemus Hifitikeko.

Stars immediately came back and nearly regained the lead when a chipped shot by Kazerua hit the crossbar, after a fine buildup between Karongee and Ngatjizeko.
Rudi Louw came close early in the second half, heading over from a Dennis Ngueza cross, but it was Pirates who started applying more pressure, especially after Klaas Blom, Mohammed Ouseb and Meraai Swartbooi came on as substitutes after 63m.
Blom was causing all sorts of problems wit his tricky runs while John Samson also had Stars’ defence at full stretch.

With ten minutes remaining, Stars’ fans started honking away on their vuvuzelas, but their celebrations were put on hold as the match dragged on and on into injury time. Stars’ defence, with Pat Uanivi and Andrew Tjahikika outstanding, stood firm until Rukanyira finally blew his whistle to signal the end of the match.
Stars’ players and fans started celebrating wildly and minutes later the chairman of the NPL JJ Doeseb handed the league trophy over to Stars’ captain Andrew Tjahikika.


Civics grab second spot - Submitted by Helge Schutz

Civics grabbed second place on the MTC NPL log after thrashing Mighty Gunners 7-1 at the Mokati Stadium in Otjiwarongo on Saturday. Civics went on the attack from the start and by half time were already leading 4-0. The one way traffic continued after the break as they completed the comprehensive victory which saw them overtaking Black Africa and moving into second place on the log.

It was quite a lucrative victory as Civics will now earn N$180 000 as league runners up, while BA will receive N$100 000 for finishing third.
Eslin Kamuhanga and Pineas Jacob each scored a brace for Civics, while Donnelly Nel, Ashley Jossop and Nelson Angula scored the other goals.
Black Africa drew 1-1 against Oshakati City but their coach Ali Akan was hopping mad after the game after the referee disallowed two goals by Jerome Louis.

Oshakati’s veteran striker Cascas Angula gave them the lead just before halftime before Louis equalised midway through the second half. Louis however had two more goals disallowed – one for offside and one for a foul - leading Akan to say that he would take drastic measures and report the matter with the Anti Corruption Commission. “This cannot carry on any more. I will report this matter to the Anti Corruption Commission because we were blatantly robbed of victory. This poor officiating in Namibia cannot continue anymore,” he said.

SKW finished fourth despite losing 2-1 to Eleven Arrows in Walvis Bay. Rudolph Bester scored both Arrows’ goals, while Marco van Wyk scored for SKW. SKW receive N$75 000 for finishing fourth, while fifth-placed Arrows will receive N$45 000.

Orlando Pirates finished sixth after beating Chief Santos 2-0 at the SKW Stadium and will collect N$25 000 for their efforts.

African Stars, who already won the title and the first prize of N$400 000 on Wednesday evening, drew 0-0 against Ramblers at Windhoek’s Independence Stadium. At the Khomasdal Stadium, Hotspurs beat Tigers 1-0.

Das Trainertrio des Sportklubs Windhoek nach dem letzten Saisonspiel in Walvis Bay: Rolf Beiter, Richard Starke und Lucky Kakuva (v.l.n.r.). Mit ihrem Team aus Windhoek-Olympia beenden sie die NPL-Saison 2008/09 auf dem 4. Tabellenplatz.

Trainer-Trio des SKW zieht Resümee: „Eine sehr gute Saison“

Die Fußballmannschaft des Sportklubs Windhoek (SKW) hat ihre Fans in der Saison 2008/09 in eine nie da gewesene Euphorie und die Konkurrenz ins Staunen versetzt. Die Platzierung spricht für sich. Doch der Erfolg der Grün-Weißen kommt nicht von ungefähr. Drei Männer haben es sich zum Job, zur Aufgabe und zur Leidenschaft gemacht, die Mannschaft zu trainieren und sie von Spiel zu Spiel zu führen. Arne Putensen sprach für die AZ mit dem Trainer-Trio: Richard Starke, Rolf Beiter und Lucky Kakuva.

AZ: Die Saison ist vorbei. Eure Mannschaft hat sich bis zum Schluss wacker geschlagen und mit Abstand für die größte Überraschung der Spielzeit gesorgt. Wie lautet Euer Resümee?

R. Starke: Es war eine sehr gute Saison. Wir haben definitiv über unsere Verhältnisse gespielt und so manchen Beobachter überrascht. Es gibt noch einige Dinge, die sich verändern müssen, daran werden wir in der Winterpause arbeiten.

AZ: Euer Team hat weit über den Verhältnissen gespielt, das zeigt auch die Tabellenplatzierung. Aber warum? Was waren Eure Stärken?

L. Kakuva: Wir haben eine unglaubliche Moral in der Mannschaft. Jeder Kicker will spielen und gibt alles für den Anderen. Darüber hinaus ist der Kern der Mannschaft über die vergangenen Jahre fast immer gleich geblieben. Das macht natürlich viel aus…

AZ: …hat auch Eure defensive Spielweise was damit zu tun, die ja bekanntlich in Afrika unüblich ist?

R. Beiter: Das stimmt nicht. Wir spielen nur sehr diszipliniert und daher sieht es wahrscheinlich so aus, als würden wir defensiv spielen. Unsere Abwehr hat allerdings einen guten Job in dieser Saison gemacht und daher stehen wir auch oben. Schaut man sich mal die Tordifferenz an, merkt man, dass wir sehr wenige Gegentreffer erhalten haben.

AZ: Es hapert noch im Sturm. Euer Team hat nur sehr wenige Tore erzielt und viele Treffer landete auch noch ein Mittelfeldspieler: Marco van Wyk.

R. Beiter: Das ist unsere große Schwäche. Wir haben nur einen Spieler, der Tore macht, und da muss in der nächsten Saison etwas passieren. Wenn wir einen gefährlicheren Stürmer und noch einige gute Mittelfeldspieler hätten, die ab und zu das Tor treffen, wären wir schon lange Meister.

L. Kakuva: In der Offensive muss was passieren…

AZ: …heißt das, dass sich der SKW derzeit nach Spielern umschaut? Gibt es bereits einige, die Ihr gerne verpflichten würdet?

L. Kakuva. Da fängt das Problem an. Es gibt wenige gute Spieler, die wir holen können. Daher müssen wir auf unsere Jugend bauen und diese für die Zukunft stark machen.

R. Beiter: Glücklicherweise gibt es Einige in unserer Jugend, die das Talent haben, bald in der Premierliga zu kicken. Aber wir haben auch einige Andere im Auge.

AZ: Der SKW spielt die zweite Saison in Folge ganz oben mit, aber warum wechseln keine großen Stars wie Rudolph Bester, Heinrich Isaacs oder Rudi Louw nach Olympia?

L. Kakuva: Da gibt es zwei Probleme. Entweder gehen die guten Kicker wegen des Geldes nach Südafrika oder Angola oder sie haben einfach nicht die Disziplin, um bei uns zu spielen. Wer bei uns nicht zum Training kommt, spielt auch nicht. Das ist nicht überall üblich.

R. Beiter: Auch unsere Art der Bezahlung verstehen die meisten Spieler nicht, denn bei uns gibt es kein festes Gehalt. Die Kicker werden für Anwesenheit beim Training, für Spiele, Siege und Unentschieden bezahlt. Meistens haben sie dann im Endeffekt mehr Geld als die Anderen. Die „Stars“ sehen meist nur die große Summe.

AZ: Insgesamt wurde den Zuschauern aller Vereine in dieser Saison nicht unbedingt der beste Fußball präsentiert. Habt Ihr die gleiche Meinung und wenn ja, warum war das so?

R: Starke: Das war mit Abstand die schlechteste Saison, die ich je gesehen habe – von allen Clubs. Der Verband (Namibischer Fußballverband, NFA, die Red.) muss mehr machen, um den Sport zu verbessern. Auch die finanziellen Mittel, die den Vereinen zu Verfügung gestellt werden, reichen vorne und hinten nicht.

L. Kakuva: Die falschen Leute sitzen an den falschen Plätzen. Zudem werden Daten für Spiele rausgegeben und dann am nächsten Tag verändert – so können die Trainer nicht planen.

AZ: Die Saison war für den SKW auch durch einige schmerzhafte Erlebnisse gekennzeichnet. Herr Starke, Sie haben kurzfristig für eine Weile Ihren Posten als Trainer niedergelegt. Danach herrschte ziemliche Verwirrung…

R. Starke: Die ganze Sache wurde von den Medien falsch interpretiert. Ich bin von meinem Posten nie ganz zurückgetreten, sondern habe aus gesundheitlichen Gründen nur eine Pause gebraucht.

R. Beiter: Wir waren immer ein Trainerteam; Richard hat eine Pause gemacht, Luckey und ich haben die Sache weitergeführt. Richard kam ja dann relativ schnell wieder zurück ins Trainergeschehen (lacht).

AZ: Abgesehen vom Fußballerischen – hat sich sonst etwas für den SKW verändert, die Fans zum Beispiel?

R. Beiter: Wir haben eine sehr stille Fangemeinschaft, die aber wächst. Auch von der schwarzen Bevölkerung bekommen wir Respekt, immer mehr Schwarze werden Fans unserer Mannschaft. Das ist schön zu sehen…

AZ: …Luckey, als einziger Farbiger im Trio hörst Du wahrscheinlich mehr als Deine Kollegen. Wie steht die schwarze Bevölkerung zu dem „deutschen“ und „weißen“ Verein und hat sich dieser in die überwiegend schwarze Fußballwelt intrigiert?

L. Kakuva: Die Mannschaft hat sich ja in den vergangenen Jahren gut verkauft und daher auch sehr gut in die Fußballwelt integriert. Wir erhalten sehr viel Respekt für unsere Disziplin und unsere Organisation. Ich denke schon, dass wir von den Meisten akzeptiert werden.

AZ: Habt Ihr Eure Saisonziele erreicht?

R. Starke: Nicht alle. Wir definieren die Saisonziele immer zusammen mit den Spielern. Die wollten in dieser Saison Erster oder Zweiter werden, wir Trainer wollten unter die Top 3. Auch wollten wir in das Pokalfinale einziehen, was uns leider nicht geglückt ist. Dafür haben wir aber mehr Nationalspieler hervorgebracht als zuvor. Mit Ralph Ellinger, Marco van Wyk, Günther von Hundelshausen und Arend van Stryk haben wir vier Nationalkicker im Kader.

AZ: Danke für das Gespräch. Von AZ

Pirates win Cell One NFA Cup - Submitted by Helge Schutz

Orlando Pirates beat Eleven Arrows 3-2 on penalties to win the Cell One NFA Cup on Saturday evening.
After a goalless first half, Arrows took the lead on 47m when Rudolph Bester stabbed in a loose ball. Pirates however drew level through a cracking volley by John Samson on 64m to send the match into extra time.

Neither team could break the deadlock in extra time, although Arrows wasted some great chances, notably through Edward Damaseb and Freedom Puriza and the match had to be decided on penalties.

Pirates’ keeper Heribert Kapeng put in a brilliant performance in the shootout, pulling off three saves from Henry Somseb, Bobby Kaapama and Muna Katupose, and when Gerry Keister scored from the spot to give Pirates a 3-2 victory, their fans erupted with joy.

Pirates’ players could also not contain their happiness and excitement and when captain Enrico Afrikaner lifted the trophy, the champagne corks started popping and the celebrations got underway. Pirates won the first prize of N$500 000 while Arrows received the runner up prize of N$200 000.

After a hesitant start, Arrows did the early attacking with Edward Damaseb, Sheya Andimba and Rudolph Bester putting in strong runs. Pirates’ defence held out and they nearly took the lead on 28m when John Samson hit the post and Meraai Swartbooi shot narrowly wide from the rebound. Stanley Kamesiepo also came close with a 30m cracker that skimmed the crossbar.

Arrows took the lead just after the restart when Bester latched onto a cross from the left, to stab the ball home in a goalmouth scramble.
Pirates drew level through a great goal by John Samson. A cross from the right was headed into the box by Meraai Swartbooi and Samson smashed a great volley into the net.

Pirates kept up the pressure and Arrows’ keeper Virgil Vries brought off two fine saves in the final minutes of the second half – one from Samson and another from a Meraai Swartbooi freekick.

The momentum swung back to Arrows in extra time with Rudolph Bester and Edward Damaseb putting Pirates under pressure with their strong runs.
Damaseb came close to scoring twice, shooting narrowly wide of the target, while Arrows’ winger Freedom Puriza also missed a golden opportunity when he was put clear by Bester, but with an open goal gaping, he blasted the ball wide of the goal.

After 120 minutes nothing separated the teams and the match had to be decided on penalties. Pirates’ keeper Heribert Kapeng immediately saved Henry Somseb’s shot, but Virgil Vries saved Meraai Swartbooi’s shot to keep the sides level.
Freedom Puriza and Rudolph Bester scored for Arrows, while Johannes Seibeb scored for Pirates, but Arrows took the lead when Neville Nanub shot wide of the goals, to put Arrows 2-1 ahead.

Kapeng however immediately brought Pirates back into the hunt when he saved Bobby Kaapama’s shot, while Enrico Afrikaner scored for Pirates to put the sides level at 2-all.

Kapeng once again saved from Muna Katupose before Gerry Keister secured Pirates’ victory when he beat Vries with a high shot that went into the top right hand corner.
Kapeng’s goal set off wild celebrations among Pirates’ diehard fans amongst the 6 000-odd spectators in attendance.
Students Confident Ahead of Play-Offs - by Carlos Kambaekwa

WINDHOEK – Four teams will be fighting it out for a place in the lucrative MTC Premiership next season.
Ambitious Windhoek based Monitronics College are confident to come out unscathed from this weekend’s much-anticipated playoffs, scheduled for the capital over three days.

On current form, the students are hot favourites to triumph over their opponents in the marathon playoffs for promotion to the country’s elite league, but the likes of Blue Waters and Invincible cannot be written off as both teams boast players who are capable of pulling their respective teams through.

Monitronics are coached by the much travelled Woody Jacobs and the youthful mentor is in high spirits and strongly believes his charges possess what it takes to brush aside their opponents with ease – come hell or high water.

The fact that the students are the only unbeaten side in the demarcated Southern Stream First Division makes them tricky customers to deal with but many are of the opinion that they have not really been tested.

The students were pitted in the presumably weaker six-team Inland Stream league as opposed to both Blue Waters and Invincible Football Club, who have to negotiate their way past tougher opposition in the more competitive coastal stream.

“My mandate was very clear when I joined the team at the beginning of the season and that was to take the team to the Premier League. As much as I respect our opponents, I’m very much confident that we will come out tops from the playoffs,” charged a confident Jacobs.

Monitrinocs have assembled a very good and balanced squad – a combination of experienced players blended with a number of talented youngsters.

The students will be led by highly rated attacking midfielder Silas Kaheke, a protégé of African Stars whilst former Stars’ livewire striker Silver Suriyari and versatile defensive kingpin Mark Isaacs, formerly with Orlando Pirates, add spark to the star-studded outfit.

The “Clever Boys” also boosted their line-up with some clever signings that include the Zimbabwean pair of midfielder Milton Chapo and striker Mabaso Linus.

“We have a good number of players with Premier League experience but so are the other teams, especially Blue Waters, who managed to keep the bulk of their playing personnel following their relegation from the elite league last season.

“Though I’m confident, we are fully aware of the fact these teams are coached by experienced coaches in the persons of Lucky Shipanga (Blue Waters) and Brian Isaacs (Invincible), so we have to treat them with a good measure of respect,” concluded Jacobs.

Jacobs also praised the Southern Stream Division One League executive for the fashion in which they went about their business and to make sure that the league finishes in time despite all the odds stacked against them.

He singled out the league’s chairman Kenneth “Kandas” Gaoseb, and reckoned the rookie football administrator has all the attributes of a genuine leader, adding that Namibian football needs more people of his calibre to take the game to the next level.

However, Jacobs expressed concerns over the standard of match officials in the first division and called on football authorities to pay serious attention to the upgrading of referees in the lower divisions.

Monitronics open their assault in the marathon playoffs with a tie against cross-town rivals Invincible Football Club in what many football pundits believe will direct the destiny of the overall winner.

The titanic battle is scheduled for the Independence Stadium in Windhoek on Friday, while Blue Waters and Friends confront each other at the SKW Stadium at the same time.

Saturday sees the teams exchanging opponents, with Friends continuing their battles with Monitronics College and Invincible taking on Blue Waters at the Independence and SKW stadiums respectively.

The students return for their final match in the four-team playoffs against Blue Waters at the Independence Stadium on Sunday. Invincible FC and Friends complete the line-up with a tie at the nearby SKW Stadium.

SFC-Kicker gewinnen Finale und spielen nun um den Aufstieg - AZ-online 30.06.2009

Fußball: 0:2-Niederlage reicht dem Küstenteam zum Weiterkommen – Glück zum Ende – Attacke auf Schiedsrichter überschattet das Duell
Windhoek/Swakopmund – Endlich ist es geschafft: Die Fußballmannschaft des Swakopmunder Sportclubs (SFC) hat sich am vergangenen Wochenende trotz einer 0:2-Niederlage gegen Celtic die Meisterschaft der 2. Erongo-Liga gesichert und zieht somit in die Play-off-Spiele um den Aufstieg in die 1. Division ein. Das Hinspiel konnten die Swakopmunder auswärts mit 3:1 gewinnen – durch die Auswärtstorreglung schafften die Kicker nun den Sprung in das Play-off-Finale.

Beide Teams liefen mit ihrer jeweils stärksten Elf auf den Platz. Der SFC hatte lediglich die Abwesenheit von Stürmerstar Attak Jansen zu beklagen, der erst fünf Minuten vor dem Anpfiff beim Spiel erschien. Das Teammanagement entschied sich daher, den Angreifer nicht aufzustellen. Indes hatte Celtic auch eine Veränderung vorgenommen. Der ehemalige Nationaltorhüter Denzel Bruwer hatte nach der Niederlage im Hinspiel das Zepter bei Celtic übernommen.

Beide Seiten starteten gut in die Begegnung. Celtic erspielte sich eine kleine Überlegenheit und übte Druck aus. Der SFC versuchte, das Spiel in die Hand zu nehmen, jedoch machte Nervosität bei den Blau-Weißen die Runde und die Swakopmunder scheiterten. In der 21. Minute dann das 1:0 für die Gäste. Der SFC im Schockzustand, Celtic weiter mit Druck. Vereinzelnd kam der SFC jedoch auch zu Chancen.
In der Pause musste Coach Gerald Güther seine Spieler erstmal beruhigen. Im zweiten Durchgang ging es dann zwar besser, dennoch war die Nervosität nicht aus den Köpfen der SFC-Kicker zu kriegen. Bei Standardsituationen standen die Spieler immer wieder falsch, das Aufbauspiel klappte vorne und hinten nicht. „Wir hatten wenig Selbstvertrauen“, erklärte Güther nach dem Spiel. Celtic griff dann auch wieder zu unfairen Mitteln, doch der Schiri ahndete diese meist gar nicht oder nur mit Gelb. Dann eine weitere Schrecksekunde: Nach einer Ecke schafften es die SFC-Kicker nicht, den Ball zu klären und Celtic lochte zum 2:0 ein. Keeper Gernot Späth hatte keine Chance.

In der letzten Viertelstunde ging es dann richtig heiß her. Celtic spielte auf Sieg, dem SFC blieb nichts anderes übrig als auf Kontermöglichkeiten zu warten – doch diese kamen nicht. 80. Minute: SFC-Verteidiger Stefan Tietz spielt den Ball mit dem Arm – Celtic verlangt Elfmeter, doch der Unparteiische hat das Handspiel nicht gesehen und lässt weiterspielen. Danach behielt der SFC bis zum Schluss die Nerven und gewann schließlich die Meisterschaft.
Leider kam es danach noch zu unschönen Szenen. Nach dem Schlusspfiff gingen drei Spieler sowie der Trainer von Celtic auf den Schiedsrichter los und bearbeiteten diesen mit Faustschlägen. Zahlreiche Zuschauer und SFC-Spieler konnten die Auseinandersetzung schließlich beenden.

Von Arne Putensen


MTC-NPL Awards for season 2008/09

The categories at this year's awards are as follows (with the nominees);
MTC-NPL Team of the season: - Black Africa Football Club  - Civics Football Club  - African Stars Football Club
MTC-NPL Top goal scorer: is Jerome Louis of Black Africa football club
MTC-NPL Coach of the season Nominees: - SKW FC's Lucky Kakuva, African Stars FC's Bobby Samaria, Eleven Arrows FC's Gilbert Rwasoka.
MTC-NPL Player of the season Nominees: - Ninja Karongee of African Stars FC, Rudolf Bester of Eleven Arrows FC, Jerome Louis of Black Africa FC.
Chairman's award

Congratulations to the winners and Nominees of Season 2008/09!!!
Ellinger The Imawida’s Most Valued Player - by Staff Reporter 02 July 2009

WINDHOEK - Cymot Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) ended their fairytale season with a glittering prize-giving ceremony at its premises in Olympia, south of the capital on Tuesday evening. The managing director of the club’s official sponsor Cymot – Axel Theissen – was amongst the invited guests at the gala event where the following awards were presented to the club’s top achievers in a relatively successful season that saw the gutsy Germans finishing in modest 4th place in the 12-team MTC Namibia Premiership.

Player of the season: Brave Warriors protégé Ralph ‘the Rock’ Ellinger.
Golden Boot: Captain fantastic Marko van Wyk, who top scored with a total haul of 18 goals to his credit – 14 in the League and 4 in the Cell One NFA Cup competition.
The Most Improved player of the season award went to Edwin Korukuve, while Chepela Chepela was awarded the most enthusiastic player award.
• Enterprising winger Edmund ‘Sledge’ Gowaseb got the nod for the sportiest player of the season and the award for the most enthusiastic club official went to coach Rolf Beiter, who also doubles up as the club’s public relations officer.

The Germans will resume training in the middle of next month in preparation for the 2009/2010 season.

Meanwhile, former premiership side United Stars found their way back into top- flight football after they were relegated in 2002. The side managed to collect the needed points at the weekend and despite having three matches to place still, they were already assured of promotion in their 6-0 win against Benfica.

United Stars will be joined by the winner of the three matches in the SSFD play-offs which will be concluded on July 18. 

Fixtures are as follows:

Southern Stream 1st Division playoff matches

Invincible 2 Monitronics 1
Blue Waters 1 Friends 1

Blue Waters 2 Invincible 0
Friends 2 Monitronics 0

Saturday, July 18
14h00:     Blue Waters v Monitronic College - Usab Stadium
14h00:     Friends v Invincible - Independence Stadium.  

Louis wins Player of the Season award

The MTC NPL 2008/09 season came to a fitting end on Friday night as Black Africa striker Jerome Louis won the MTC NPL Player of the Season award at a glittering function at Windhoek’s Safari Hotel.

It was a lucrative evening for Louis who won N$15 000 for the Player of the Season award as well as N$10 000 for the Goal scorer of the Season award. Louis had a great strike rate of more than a goal a game and ended up with 22 goals in 21 league matches.

He displayed a great killer instinct and was inevitably there to put the ball into the net.
He played a major role in Black Africa’s second round unbeaten run that saw them challenge for the title before finally finishing third.

Louis was not present at the awards since he is attending trials in South Africa, but his awards were received by his mother, Maxi Louis. The other finalists for the award were Eleven Arrows midfielder Rudolph Bester and African Stars midfielder Ninja Karongee.

Bobby Samaria, coach of league champions African Stars won the Coach of the Season award, and a cheque of N$10 000, while Stars won the Team of the Season award. Stars received N$400 000 for winning the league, while second placed Civics received N$180 000 and third placed Black Africa N$100 000.
The president of Civics Football Club Helmuth Scharnowski won the Chairman’s Award for his selfless contributions to Namibian soccer.
Birds are back!  By: CORRY IHUHUA corry@namibian.com.na

QUINTUPLE Premiership champions Blue Waters are back in top-flight football after pipping fellow challengers Friends to the post with a 2-0 win over Monitronic College in Karibib on Saturday. Blue Waters now joins United Stars from Rundu in the promotion basket, after Mighty Gunners and Chief Santos were relegated from the premiership last season. Friends won their match 1-0 against Invincible, giving Blue Waters the chance to get through by a better goal difference. The ‘’Beautiful Birds” as they are affectionately known at the harbour town, were relegated last season and will now form part of the 12-team NPL league. Blue Waters coach Lucky Shipanga earlier this year promised the fans that the team will be promoted to the premiership this season – and that commitment was realised on Saturday. At the time, he said despite having a lot of young players in the team, they always showed character and a fighting spirit, which now ensured them a spot back into the league. The only senior players left in the side are defenders Fischer Kalimba and Gottlieb Nakuta as well as striker Armando Pedro. Shipanga, who is a former player for the team, also reached the quarter-finals of the Cell One NFA Cup with the same squad earlier this year, but his biggest victory is surely the entry he gained to the top league. Before relegation last season, Blue Waters remained one of the powerhouses of domestic football and since 1985, they have won the championship five times. They have captured the title in 1986, 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2003 and are joint on five with Black Africa who have scooped it in 1989, 1994 (special category), 1995, 1998 and 1999.  The premiership season starts in the second week of September.


NPL looking to become a brand  written by Theron Kolokwe Economist

The Namibia Premier League (NPL) is seemingly becoming more established following its relocation to new offices earlier this month.
If one reads the papers, there is a good chance one will stumble across an advertisement for a CEO at the league administrator. This will be followed by more positions to be filled at the NPL. NPL Administrator, Tovey Hoebeb, sounded very optimistic about the future when approached by the Economist this week.
“We are aiming at creating our own brand. So moving out of the Soccer House was a step in the right direction and also giving us more physical and organisational room to grow,” he said. Hoebeb said the NPL is looking to grow and set an example for NPL clubs to meet FIFA standards that require them to have offices and all the necessary requirements needed to run a professional club. “We have a clear Road Map that will require all NPL clubs in the near future to set up offices and appoint people to run their affairs,” he said. Hoebeb said his office is working with its counterparts from the South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) to help set up a professional structure for the league. This is not a bad example to mirror because the South African league is renowned to be the most professionally-administered league in Africa. Hoebeb said that the activities calendar for the next season has been approved and all fixture dates are in order. “The activities calendar for the 2009-2010 season has been approved. Every round of matches from the Charity Cup to the final round of matches is fixed and including the NFA Cup final,” he said. The 2009-2010 season will kick off with the Charity Cup on 29 August; the NPL will itself start on 12 September. The last day of the league season is set for 16 May 2010, a full month ahead of the last day of last season. As of next season, Hoebeb said the public would have the final say as to who would be the Man of the Match at each NPL match and ultimately the Player of the Season.
This will work as follows: fans vote for the Man of the Match at each NPL match, the winner of which will be entered into the Player of the Month poll. Fans will also vote for the winner. Each winner of Player of the Month will be entered into the Player of the Season poll.
Imawida Ties Up Top Players - by Carlos Kambaekwa

WINDHOEK – Wealthy MTC Namibia Premiership outfit Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) has moved swiftly to ensure that star players are staying put.

The ambitious Germans held fruitful talks with their most valued players with the ultimate view of having the players committing themselves to the Olympia based club for the 2009/2010 campaign.

The Brave Warriors trio of mercurial midfielder Marko van Wyk, defenders Ralph Ellinger and Gunter “Ginger” von Hundelshausen as well as Zambian import Chepela Chepela have all pledged their future to the club.
According to a press statement released by the club, the team will do everything in its power to retain all its playing personnel that steered the unfashionable “Imawida” to a modest 4th place on the MTC Namibia Premiership last term.

Meanwhile, Pitzi Eichoff has returned from a 3-year stint in Germany where he played in that country’s amateur leagues whilst on study leave.
The left footed player from Vergenoeg brings with him a wealth of experience from Europe where he rubbed shoulders with some of the finest footballers in Germany’s lower leagues. Eichoff was instrumental in SKW’s promotion to the elite league after the club, formerly known as Fortuna, spent a significant number of years in obscurity. The Germans resume training in the 3rd week of next month and club management has confirmed that there has been interest from some top players who have approached the club with the view of putting up tent in Olympia.

In other transfer news, unsettled Eleven Arrows’ defender and Brave Warriors’ protégé Chris Katjiukua is reportedly on his way to newly crowned MTC Namibia Premiership champions African Stars.

Orlando Pirates’ free scoring striker John Samson is up to his old tricks again.
The veteran Sierra Leone dreadlocked goal poacher has apparently developed itchy feet and is in search of new employers with former club Ramblers, Stars and SKW the likely destinations.

Burly skillful midfielder Mekondjo Tobias could return to the coast to team up with former club Blue Waters while wayward winger Johannes “Boetietjie” Seibeb is rumoured to be courting a move back to Stars. A club insider says they heard about the news of Seibeb leaving the Buccaneers’ ship but the source is adamant his next destination will have to be somewhere else as the Reds have had enough of Seibeb’s off the field antics.

The NFA Appeals Board decision to dismiss Ramblers’ appeal against the fielding of stalwart defender Mohammed Ouseb in their Cell One NFA Cup semifinal match has infuriated club officials. Sources close to the club say the club’s top brass feel extremely aggrieved and are considering cutting ties with football.
The fuming officials believe football authorities erred big time and acted in bad faith when it dealt with their appeal. Ramblers are likely to offload a number of its foreign imports in a move that is seen as a clean-up after a relatively average season for the ambitious Pionierspark based outfit.
Hummel joins Arrows Submitted by Helge Schutz

Eleven Arrows owner JJ Doeseb has lost no time in preparing for the new season and on Wednesday announced several new signings ahead of the 2009/10 season. Brave Warriors’ defender George Hummel tops the list of new signings made by Eleven Arrows owner JJ Doeseb ahead of the 2009/10 season.

Doeseb has also signed up Hotspurs striker Edward “Fadiga” Asino and Ramblers midfielder Bernadine Mbilizi, while he announced that Ronnie Kanalelo as head coach and Congo Hindjou as assistant coach will head the coaching department. Doeseb said that he felt that his new-look squad will make a strong challenge in the league as well as the cup competitions next season. “I am sure that we will land some silverware next season. I am happy with Ronnie and Congo and feel they will make a good combination. They have my support,” he said. It is the second time that Doeseb and Kanalalo will team up. Kanalelo joined Arrows two seasons ago for a short stint as technical director, before he joined South African Premier League side Maritzburg United as a goalkeeping coach. Kanalelo is a highly rated Namibian coach, having also coached Black Africa, while he acted as assistant and goalkeeping coach for the Brave Warriors under Ben Bamfuchile, Arie Schans and Tom Saintfiet. Hindjou, who is Namibia’s most capped player with 69 international caps, does not have much coaching experience, although he did act as an assistant coach with Civics a few seasons ago.

Hummel joins Arrows

The signing of Hummel is a major coup, as he is one of Namibia’s most experienced players with 40 international caps to his name. Hummel has played for various clubs abroad and last season represented Jomo Cosmos in South Africa’s Mvela First Division. Doeseb said that Hummel still had a lot to offer.
“I have been eyeing Hummel for a while and we already held discussions earlier this year when he was called up for the Brave Warriors. He still has a lot to offer and his experience and stability in defence will be invaluable,” he said. Doeseb also expressed confidence in his other signings, saying that Asino would fill the gap left by star striker Rudolph Bester, who has joined South African Premier League side Maritzburg United.Asino had a great season with league newcomers Hotspurs, scoring some memorable goals in their campaign. His form also led to his call up for the Brave Warriors and he is sure to strengthen Arrows’ attack.

Mbilizi has been one of Ramblers’ most consistent players over the past few seasons and is highly rated as a defensive midfielder.
Besides his new signings, Doeseb has also transfer-listed several players. They are Zimbabwean midfielder Sebastian Matende, Cameroonian midfielder Ndile Egane, strikers Edward Damaseb and Henry Somseb and defender Vilho Taya.

Doeseb said other clubs were free to contact him if they were interested in the players’ services.
Ligaauftakt „pünktlich“ im September von Arne Putensen AZ online

Fußball: Aufsteiger stehen fest – Wechsel laufen auf Hochtouren – SKW behält Schlüsselspieler
Der Auftakt zur Fußball-Premierligasaison 2009/10 wird in diesem Jahr am 11. September erfolgen. Neben der höchsten namibischen Spielklasse werden auch wieder zwei Pokal-Wettbewerbe die neue Saison begleiten.

Windhoek – „Am 11. September wird die Liga wieder angepfiffen“, gab Tovey Hoebeb, Mitarbeiter der Namibischen Premierliga (NPL), gestern im Gespräch mit der AZ bekannt. Trotz der Erfahrung der vergangenen Jahre, in denen die Liga meist erst später angefangen hat, ist Hoebeb zuversichtlich: „Ich sehe keinen Grund, warum die Saison erst später anfangen soll. Wir arbeiten derzeit am Spielplan und an den anderen administrativen Aufgaben, um einen reibungslosen Verlauf zu gewährleisten. Die Liga wird pünktlich anfangen, das garantiere ich“, so Hoebeb weiter.

Nachdem die beiden Vereine Mighty Gunners und Chief Santos aus der Premierliga abgestiegen sind, kamen mit den beiden Aufsteigern Blue Waters (Walvis Bay) und United Stars aus Rundu zwei neue Clubs dazu, um gegen die Besten des Landes anzutreten. Vor allem für Blue Waters geht es wieder in ein gewohntes Umfeld. Der Verein aus Walvis Bay war erst am Ende der Saison 2007/08 aus der NPL abgestiegen. Neben den Eleven Arrows wird Blue Waters nun der zweite Küstenclub in der Liga sein.

Wie Hoebeb weiter mitteilte, werden während der Saison wieder zwei Pokale ausgespielt. Zum einen wird der lukrativste Wettbewerb des namibischen Fußballs, der Cell-One-NFA-Pokal, wie gewohnt seinen Sieger aus zahlreichen Mannschaften des gesamten Landes ermitteln. Zum anderen wird auch ein so genannter Charity-Cup ausgetragen. 14 Mannschaften, die von der Öffentlichkeit nominiert werden, sollen dabei gegeneinander antreten.

Indes geht das Wechselkarussell weiter. Medienberichten zufolge soll Nationalspieler Rudolph Bester von Eleven Arrows zu Maritzburg United nach Südafrika gewechselt sein. Der Verein zeigte sich bis jetzt sehr angetan von den Qualitäten des Stürmers. Auch der „NPL Spieler des Jahres“, Jerome Louis, versucht derzeit sein Glück in Südafrika. Nachdem Supersport United dem ehemaligen Stürmer von Black Africa eine Absage erteilt hat, soll Louis momentan bei Santos ein Probetraining absolvieren.

Einen Paukenschlag konnte dagegen der Premierligist Sportklub Windhoek (SKW) landen. Der Verein aus Olympia wird in der kommenden Saison weiter auf seine Schlüsselspieler Marko van Wyk, Ralph Ellinger, Chepela Chepela und Günter von Hundelshausen bauen können. Alle vier Kicker sind sich mit den Grün-Weißen einig geworden, teilte der Verein gestern mit. Darüber hinaus wird auch Pitzi Eichhoff nach seinem Studium in Deutschland nach Olympia zurückkehren. Eichhoff war Teil der Mannschaft, die 2005 den Aufstieg in die NPL schaffte. Die drei Trainer des SKW wollen nach eigenen Aussagen noch einige Gespräche mit potenziellen Neuverpflichtungen führen.


Brave Warriors shoot up the rankings - Submitted by H. Schutz

Namibia’s Brave Warriors have shot up 12 places to 103 in the world according to the latest FIFA rankings which were released on Wednesday. Namibia were the biggest climbers in Africa on the monthly rankings, despite not having played a match over the past month. According to the rankings system, matches over the past four years are taken into account for the world rankings, with the result that performances four years ago can still influence the team’s position.

It is the second successive month that the Brave Warriors have shown a vast improvement on the world rankings. In July they improved by 13 places, with the result that they have now shot up from 128 to 103 in the world in only two months.

Brave Warriors coach Tom Saintfiet was excited about the news, but added that it was not their main aim.
“Naturally, this is good news, but our main goal is to develop the team and to qualify for the 2012 African Cup of Nations finals,” he said.

When Saintfiet took over as head coach in July 2008, the Brave Warriors were ranked 131st in the world, with the result that they have now climbed 28 positions over the past 12 months.
In the process their ranking in Africa has moved up to 27, while Namibia are now the fifth ranked team in the southern African region.

South Africa, which is ranked 72nd in the world and 14th in Africa, is the top ranked nation in the SADC region, followed by Zambia (77th in the world and 17th in Africa) and Mozambique (82nd in the world and 18th in Africa).

Angola, who still participated at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, are next in SADC, with a world ranking of 102 and an African ranking of 26, with Namibia just one place behind them.

Namibia has now overtaken Malawi, who are ranked 108 in the world, while former regional powerhouse, Zimbabwe, have dropped down a further four places to 120 in the world. Namibia’s neighbours, Botswana, who were still level with Namibia on the rankings only two months ago, have now dropped down to 131st in the world.

The Ivory Coast are still the top ranked African nation with a world ranking of 18, followed by Cameroon (29), Gabon (31), Egypt (33) and Nigeria (34). They are followed by Ghana (35), Algeria (47), Tunisia (49), Burkina Faso (51) and Morocco (55).

There has been little change at the top of the FIFA rankings, with Brazil remaining the top ranked nation in the world, followed by Spain and the Netherlands. Germany climbs one position to fourth, replacing Italy who move to fifth. They are followed by Russia, England, Argentina, France and Croatia.

NFA searching for opponents

Meanwhile, Saintfiet said they were still hoping to organise a friendly international match on either September 5 or 9, which are both FIFA-recognised dates for international friendly matches, with the result that Saintfiet would be able to call up Namibia’s foreign-based players.

A proposed match against Malawi for August 12 failed to materialise after Malawi responded too late to Namibia’s invitation. Malawi first insisted that they wanted to play a friendly at home, but when they agreed to play Namibia in Windhoek, it was already too late.

“According to FIFA’s rules, we have to be informed at least two weeks in advance of an international match, because we have to give a two-week notice to call up our foreign-based players,” Saintfiet said.

The Namibia Football Association has been in contact with African nations like the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Gabon and Benin for a possible friendly match, but nothing has materialised so far. According to Saintfiet, they are now also negotiating with Tanzania and Morocco for a possible friendly match in Windhoek in September.
Isaacs joins Tigers Submitted by Helge Schutz

Former Orlando Pirates coach Brian Isaacs has been appointed as Wesbank Tigers’ coach ahead of the 2009/10 soccer season.

Isaacs, who was dismissed as Pirates’ coach midway through last season, told Namibia Sport that he had decided to take up a new challenge after being offered the position of Tigers’ coach.

“Tigers’ chairman Onesmus Akwenye already approached me last season while I was still coaching Orlando Pirates. At the time I told him I was not available, but after I left Pirates he approached me again and so I accepted the challenge,” he said.

“Tigers is the oldest club and one of the most recognisable clubs in Namibia, but they have not performed too well over the past three seasons. I think I can help them get the required results so that they can take their rightful place amongst the leading teams in the Premier League,” he said.

“My target is to transform Tigers into a competitive team and to ensure that Tigers’ players are disciplined on and off the field. They have a lot of talented players, but they don’t have a clear goal and they have lost the desire to play for honours. I will try and rekindle that desire so that they can become proud footballers,” he added.

Isaacs said he would bring in one or two new players to strengthen the side although it was still too early to say whom he would bring in.

“The other teams are also strengthening their teams so we must also do so. But I must first see where we need to improve before I decide who to bring in,” he said.

Isaacs said his main target for the upcoming season would be to finish amongst the top six teams in the MTC Namibia Premier League, while anything above or more than that would be a bonus.

One of the major reasons for Tigers’ lack of success over the past few years has been the indiscipline amongst their players and the high turn over of their coaching staff, which was often the result of financial difficulties.

Isaacs however said that Wesbank’s recent sponsorship announcement would help to bring stability to the club while he expressed confidence that he could bring out the best in the players.

“Tigers’ players have been indisciplined in the past, but I have confidence in my coaching abilities and I think a lot comes down to one’s interaction with the players as well as treating them with respect,” he said.

Isaacs started his coaching career with Civics before joining Orlando Pirates in 2001. He spent eight seasons with them, interspersed by a short absence during 2006-07 and won two NFA Cup trophies in 2002 and 2006 as well as the Namibia Premier League title in 2007/08.

Besides that Isaacs has also been assistant national coach to the Brave Warriors for the past three years, serving under head coaches Ben Bamfuchile, Arie Schans and Tom Saintfiet.

SKW star Van Wyk joins Black Africa Namibia Sports Magazine

Cymot SKW midfielder Marco van Wyk dropped a bombshell on Wednesday when he announced that he had signed up with Black Africa for the new season. Van Wyk told Namibia Sport that it was a difficult decision, but he decided to join Black Africa because of the way they approached him and their serious title ambitions.

“There were several teams that were interested in my services, but of all of them, I was impressed the most by Black Africa. We had several meetings and they really made an effort to acquire my services. I think I will fit in well with their style of play and they told me that I would take over the playmaker role now that Lolo Goraseb has retired. Most of their top players are staying and I think that Black Africa will be serious title contenders this season,” he said.

Several other teams, including Civics and Orlando Pirates had also been keen on signing Van Wyk, while Pirates even offered him more money than Black Africa, but Van Wyk said it was not about the money for him.

“Pirates gave me a better offer, but for me it’s not so much about the money, but more about the club’s ambition and their chances of winning trophies. With top players like Jerome Louis, Bryan Bantam and Clarence Foroma still with BA, I think we can make a strong challenge this season," he said.

"I am not saying that SKW will not make it - I believe they will be among the title contenders, because I know their character and you cannot write them off. I would like to wish them the best for the future," he added.

Van Wyk’s departure will leave a huge gap at Cymot SKW after his superb performance last season. Despite being a midfielder, he ended up as their top goal scorer with 14 Premier League goals and four goals in cup competitions. He also captained the side and it was his tremendous all-round contribution that played a major role in SKW’s strong challenge for the title. They were amongst the log leaders for most of the season, before fading in their final matches to finish fourth.

Van Wyk was rewarded for his brilliant season when he was voted as Namibia Sport Magazine’s MTC Player of the Season, by the 12 coaches in the Premier League.

Van Wyk, who has been a loyal player for SKW over the past four seasons, said it was quite tough to leave SKW.

“It was quite an emotional decision for me, because SKW meant a lot to me. Besides Liverpool, it’s the only club I have played for and I learnt a lot from the coaches Lucky Kakuva, Richard Starke and Rolf Beiter. It was a difficult decision but I made it, based on my future as a player, because I think I will only have about six years left,” he said.

Van Wyk said he had held several meetings with Black Africa chairman Kandas Paulino, their coach Ali Akan and Lolo Goraseb before he made up his mind to join them.

“Lolo said I could replace him at BA and take over his playmaker role in central midfield and wear his number six shirt. It’s also my favourite number and the one I had at SKW,” he said.
Samson John not for sale - Written by Confidence Musariri - Thursday, 13 August 2009

WITH transfer speculation now into overdrive, little wonder one of the country’s top strikers has decided to dispel rumours that he is about to leave Orlando Pirates.

Now that Eleven Arrows are proving to be the best soccer team that money can buy, it would have been a surprise that Arrows’ monies had still not reached Samson John’s account.
“I am getting a lot of offers from across the country. Unfortunately, I am not for sale,” said Orlando Pirates’ Nigerian hitman, Samson John.
Eleven Arrows, Cymot SKW  and to a certain extent Black Africa  are believed to be interested in  the gangly dreadlocked striker who has scored 80 goals in four seasons.
But the striker has shot down any moves saying leaving Pirates for any other local team would be a great betrayal to his godfather, Hendrik Dawids, Pirates owner.
“In my first season in Namibia, I injured my left pelvis while playing for Tigers that time (2003). The hospital wanted N$20,000 for my operation. I don’t know where a certain Samaritan came from but I was just told that someone had paid N$20,000 for my operation,” said Samson John.
It turned out the Good Samaritan was the then Blue Waters boss Hendrik Dawids  (HD) who had witnessed the player suffer a vertical shear injury on his left pelvis during a league match.
“I did not even know Dawids but I was grateful for what he had done because my football career was done,” said the Nigerian who has five caps with the U17 team where he scored two goals against Senegal in the Meridian Cup in 1998.
Dawids then recruited Samson John the following season while he was still recuperating.
“I recovered fast because HD had provided enough resources for my recovery. I even played for Blue Waters against Black Africa in the 2004 Charity Shield Cup, a league curtain raiser and we lost on penalties.
“Before that season kicked off, I ditched Blue Waters and joined Black Africa. I have been feeling guilty for long because I had betrayed Dawids. He had paid N$20,000 for an unknown football stranger and never bothered to express his dismay about my departure. He likes to do his things in private,” said the player who went to be voted Most Valuable Player in the 2004 and 2005 MTC/NFA Cup finals as he settled to become one of the league’s fiercest strikers.
John says while he moved from Black Africa to Ramblers before re-uniting with Dawids at Pirates, he received numerous offers from abroad including a lucrative deal to Switzerland but failed to go for trials because of improper documentation as he had a split Sierra Leone/Nigerian nationality.
Now, he has received his proper documentation and will now use his family name, Seyon this season.
“I have been having problems because I am originally from Sierra Leone; we went to Nigeria during the war. HD helped me get my documentation from my family in Nigeria. I owe my life to HD. He is now more spiritual and has revived my soul.
“We pray together occasionally. He taught me to pray as well. If I leave him, it will be suicide. I did it once, now I don’t want to leave such a gentle man. Last season I wanted to leave  because of the way things were run, but I have come to myself and realized  I have not really paid back to Dawids,” said Pirates’ top goal scorer last season.
Still, now that he got his decent documentation, Samson John Alayo Seyon says he is mulling a European move with HD’s blessings during the second half of the coming season.
Hindjou and Kakuva Off to Germany - by New Era - online

WINDHOEK - Former Brave Warriors blue eyed boy Johannes “Congo” Hindjou and compatriot Lucky Kakuva left for Germany last week for a 3-week coaching course in Hennef, Germany.

The Namibian pair will be amongst other aspiring coaches from 17 counties that include Zambia, Swaziland, South Africa and Mozambique at the International Coaching course in Hennef starting this morning.

Namibia Football Association (NFA) Secretary General Barry Rukoro said the process is facilitated by the cooperation of the German Foreign Affairs Ministry, the German FA and the NFA.

“Our thanks go to the German government and the DFB (German FA) for their continued technical assistance aimed at enriching our coaches with the necessary skills and knowledge that can benefit our game enormously,” Rukoro said.

Hindjou recently led 2nd division campaigners Spoilers from his hometown (Okahandja) to a runner-up spot finish before jumping ship to team up with former Brave Warriors teammate Ronnie Kanalelo as an understudy to the former Mamelodi Sundowns shot stopper at ambitious Walvis Bay based outfit Eleven Arrows.

“I feel honoured and I would like to thank the NFA and the DFB for affording me this opportunity. I only went into coaching last season and just used the experience gained through my playing days and working with coaches like (Rusten) Mogane, (Ted) Dumitru and Norii (Kaanjuka) amongst others to keep myself going.”

Kakuva, a former midfielder of note with Chief Santos and now assistant coach of MTC Namibia Premiership outfit Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW), was over the moon before his departure to Germany.

“My ultimate goal is to become a professional coach and courses like these do come in handy because you cannot just rely on experience, you need qualifications too. I’m glad to be granted this chance and surely looking forward to it,” he said.

Kakuva’s aspirations are to be involved with the national team at any level in the future in the hope to contribute to football development.

Apart from coaching duties with “Imawida”, Kakuva doubles up as head coach of SKW’s Under-17s.

MTC announces N$6,7 million sponsorship for Premier League - Submitted by Helge Schutz

MTC announced a sponsorship of N$6,7 million for the new Namibia Premier League season which will be known as the MTC Premiership and is scheduled to kick off on September 11.

The sponsorship announcement, which was made at a press conference at the Namibia Premier League’s office in Windhoek on Wednesday, signifies an increase of N$2,4 million or more than 55 per cent on the previous season’s Premier League sponsorship.

The total prize money represents an increase from N$820 000 to N$1,5 million, which represents an increment of 83 per cent, while all 12 clubs in the Premier League will receive prize money compared to only the first six teams last season.

The league winners will receive N$600 000, up from N$400 000 last season, while the runners up will receive N$400 000, up from N$180 000. The third placed team will receive N$200 000 (N$100 000 last season), the fourth placed team will receive N$100 000 (N$75 000 last season), the fifth placed team will receive N$65 000 (N$45 000 last season) and the sixth placed team will receive N$40 000 (N$25 000 last season).

For the first time, clubs finishing seventh to twelth will also receive prize money. The seventh placed team will receive N$30 000, the eighth placed team N$20 000, the ninth placed team N$15 000, the tenth placed team N$13 000, the eleventh placed team N$10 000 and the 12th placed team N$7 000.

Besides the increase in prize money, each club will receive a big increase in start up capital. Whereas clubs last season each received N$150 000 as start up capital, they will now each receive N$300 000 – an increase of 100 per cent.

The chairman of the NPL Johnny Doeseb expressed his satisfaction to the sponsor MTC, who have committed themselves to assist the league in its efforts to reach new heights.

“We have to honour our commitment to MTC by demonstrating the improvement their resources have brought about thus far,” he said.

To ensure players and spectators safety, minimum standards for match venues have been introduced leading to the disqualification of the Oshakati Independence Stadium and Rundu Sport Complex to host Premiership matches. Oshakati City will play their home matches at the Embandu Stadium in Oshakati, while United Stars will play their home matches at the Oscar Norich Stadium in Tsumeb.

The Kuisebmond Stadium in Walvis Bay is currently being upgraded and will only be available from October onwards. Till then, Eleven Arrows will play their home matches at the SFC Stadium in Swakopmund, while Blue Waters will play their home matches at the Atlantis Stadium in Walvis Bay.

After congratulating the newly elected chairman, the General Manager for Corporate Affairs of MTC Albertus Aochamub, said that “as the sole sponsor of the league, we can clearly testify to the progress we have made to date since the advent of last season.”

“Our commitment to the development of football is unfettered and we view the relationship with the NPL as that of equals. We will never shy away from speaking loudly and honestly when little progress is being shown by those we are supporting as partners. That behaviour will be tantamount to irresponsibility on our part since the objective is to build mutually beneficial engagements over the long term. It is not for short-term PR gain,” said Aochamub.

MTC confirmed that it was considering several requests from the NPL, including the possibility of sponsoring a Charity Cup, transport needs, the exploitation of broadcast rights and logistical support.

Clubs will also be able to enjoy the usage of MTC air time on all broadcasting media houses to market themselves and promote their clubs and thus attract more crowds to their matches.

In his closing remarks, Doeseb reminded the clubs to adhere to the rules of the game. He especially stressed that clubs should not ill treat their players and that they should honour their contracts.

“There is a standard contract which will be shared with all the clubs and the public to follow to avoid some of these things from happening or continuing,” he said.

Doeseb announced that the fixtures are available and that the plan is for the league to be completed ahead of the kick off of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Meanwhile, Tigers will take on Orlando Pirates in the opening match of the MTC Premiership at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Friday, September 11.

The complete fixtures of the 2009/10 MTC Premiership are attached

Namibia, Swaziland draw Submitted by editor Namibia Sport Magazin

Namibia wasted numerous scoring opportunities before settling for a 1-1 draw against Swaziland in an international football friendly match at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Namibia had at least five clear goal scoring chances in the first half alone, while their miserable luck was compounded when Oliver Risser had a penalty saved late in the game.

But although they failed to win the match, they were never in danger of losing it and the 5 000-odd fans were treated to some attacking football which bodes well for the future.

Swaziland’s keeper Njabuliso Simelane had to make an early save when Henrico Botes broke through after four minutes but Simelane saved well at his feet.
On 8m Collin Benjamin provided a great throughball to Botes who shot narrowly wide and five minutes later Benjamin headed inches over the bar from a Paulus Shipanga freekick.

Razundara Tjikuzu, playing his first match at home for Namibia in more than three years had a great match in midfield launching several attacks with his powerful runs. On 15 minutes he combined well with Bester to set up Botes who shot just wide and a minute later he shot narrowly over the crossbar from a Sydney Plaatjies corner.
On 22m Tjikuzu and Bester once again combined to put Plaatjies clear but his shot went wide of the target and a minute later Benjamin shot over the crossbar.

Namibia continued to lay on the pressure and in the 27th minute Oliver Risser headed over the bar from a Shipanga corner. Two minutes later Bester broke clear of the defence with a great run but Simelane rushed off his line to save well at Bester’s feet.

Namibia’s pressure finally paid off on 30m when Tjikuzu split the defence with a great throughball to Bester who beat the outrushing Simelane with a low shot into an empty net.

A minute later Botes had a shot cleared off the line by Swaziland defender Zakhete Manyatsi and on 34m Plaatjies shot over the bar after Tjikuzu launched a quick counter attack.

Swaziland’s first effective shot at goal came on 33m when Tony Tsabedze’s shot was comfortably saved but a minute later there was drama at the other end when the quicksilver Bester once again broke through only to be tackled by Manyatsi with an open goal gaping.

Swaziland’s equaliser came against the run of play and in controversial circumstances as the referee Romualdo do Rosario Baltazar of Angola adjudged that Richard Gariseb had impeded a Swazi player going for a high ball and awarded Swaziland a freekick. Namibian coach Tom Saintfiet was furious, indicating to the match commissioner that Gariseb had not touched the defender but the decision stood and from the resulting freekick Swaziland’s captain Mxolisi Mtetwa rose unmarked to head the ball in at the near post.

Swaziland had more possession in the second half although they seldom troubled Namibia’s defence.
Mathokoza Thwala provided some good crosses, while winger Civil Matsebula headed wide early on.

The game however was regularly interrupted by injuries or replacements and neither team could get into a rhythm. As the game reached the final quarter, however, Namibia once again started to bombard Swaziland’s goals.

Oliver Risser blasted a freekick over the bar on 23m, while his brotjer Wilko, who had come on for Henrico Botes, headed narrowly over the bar from a Tjikuzu freekick.

Two other second half substitutes, Heini Isaacks and Eslin Kamuhanga combined well before Simelane saved at Kamuhanga’s feet, while Simelane did well to save in front of a diving Wilko Risser.

Namibia’s pressure paid off when Tjikuzu was brought down in the box on 85m and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Oliver Risser stepped up, but his shot to the left hand corner was well saved by Simelane.

In injury time Simelane did well to clear a Kamuhanga corner from a diving Wilko Risser, but Namibia suffered a big blow when Collin Benjamin injured his knee after a tackle from behind and had to leave the field. Later it emerged that his ligaments had been damaged which could result in a long lay off and possibly an operation for the Namibian captain

Blue Waters make great return to Premiership Submitted by editor Namibia Sport Magazin

Newly promoted Blue Waters got off to a flying start as they shot to the top of the MTC Premiership log with a shock 4-0 victory away to Oshakati City on Saturday. Fielding a young and inexperienced team, Blue Waters attacked from the start and took a 2-0 halftime lead through goals by teenage midfielders Harold Gariseb and Tommy Mvula. They continued to pile on the pressure in the second half as rightwinger David Joseph scored a brace to complete their emphatic victory.

Despite their great performance, Blue Waters’ coach Lucky Shipanga said they had to remain focussed and not get carried away. “We didn’t want to sacrifice for a draw just because it was an away game, so we took the game to Oshakati City. But we are the new kids on the block and there is still a long way to go. Our aim is to stay in the league and to motivate our youngsters so that they remain focused and don’t become big headed,” coach Lucky Shipanga said.

Another newly promoted team United Stars of Rundu also made a good start and seemed to be heading for a draw against league champions African Stars at the Oscar Norich stadium in Tsumeb. African Stars had numerous scoring chances, and nearly went ahead when a header by Ikuaterua Tjozongoro hit the cross bar, while he blasted the rebound over the open net. But with five minutes to go Stars finally hit the net when Ninja Karongee latched onto a great throughpass by Heinrich Kazerua to score their winning goal. African Stars’ coach Bobby Samaria was relieved with the victory, and paid tribute to newcomers United Stars. “They are a good team and they have some good ball players. It was a very important win for us because traditionally the defending champions always struggle in their opening match. We will now just take it game by game,” he said.

Black Africa sounded an early warning with an impressive 3-1 victory against Civics at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday night. BA took the lead midway through the first half when Willy Stephanus slammed in a cross at the far post. Just before halftime Marco van Wyk made it 2-0 when he stabbed the ball in from close range. BA coach Ali Akan was red carded early in the second half for foul language, but this did not stop their momentum as Hans Witbooi made it 3-0 after latching onto a layoff by Marco van Wyk. Shortly afterwards BA striker Jerome Louis was red carded after picking up a second yellow card, and in the final minutes Floris Diergaardt scored a consolation goal for Civics after a great run by Bradley Wermann.

At the Ramblers field, Hotspurs took a first half lead from a Lindon Aseb penalty after Ramblers wingback Jeremia Baisako handled in the box. Ramblers however dominated the second half with new signing and captain Brian Brendell playing a fine match and equalised through a fine goal by midfielder Simeon Tjiueza.

At the Swakopmund Stadium Eleven Arrows and SKW drew 1-all with Donovan Swartz scoring for Arrows, while Ronny Hochobeb equalised for SKW.

On Friday evening, Tigers got a late equaliser against Orlando Pirates after a stunning freekick by Tangeni Shipahu.
Pirates took the lead after new signings Romanus Shilongo and Edward Damaseb combined for Damaseb to head home midway through the second half.
With four minutes remaining Tigers were awarded a freekick on the edge of the box and Shipahu hit the back of the net with a great shot that curled around the wall.
Blue Waters remain top Submitted by editor Namibia Sport Magazin   Sat, 09/19/2009

Blue Waters maintained their 100 per cent start to the league when they beat Ramblers 2-0 at the Atlantis Stadium in Walvis Bay on Saturday. It was their second successive victory of the season for the newly promoted side, which put them two points clear at the top of the log on six points.

Black Africa and African Stars joined Tigers on four points, after drawing 1-all on Friday night. BA took a first minute lead when Da Costa Angula headed in a Bryan Bantam freekick, but Edison Muheua equalised 9 minutes later, heading in a freekick by Pat Uanivi.

On Wednesday Tigers beat Civics 2-0 with captain Tangeni Shipahu scoring both goals to put him at the top of the goalscorers’ chart with three goals from two matches.

They were joined by SKW, who faced some stiff resistance from Oshakati City at the SKW Stadium, before winning through an 89th minute goal by midfielder Elias Lisaku.

United Stars from Rundu shocked Hotspurs with a 2-1 victory at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday afternoon to pick up their first points of the season.

At the same venue on Saturday night, Eleven Arrows fought back to pick up a 1-all draw against Orlando Pirates. Pirates took the lead shortly before halftime when Romanus Shilongo blasted in a long cross, but Arrows captain George Hummel headed in a freekick midway through the second half to give them a share of the spoils. Both sides have drawn their opening two matches and are level on two points each.

They are followed by Ramblers and Hotspurs on one point each, while Civics and Oshakati City trail at the bottom of the log with both sides still having to open their account.

Blue Waters maintain perfect start - Submitted by Namibiasport on Sun, 09/27/2009 - 10:34. Football

Blue Waters maintained their 100 per cent start to the new season with a hard fought 1-0 victory against Hotspurs on Saturday. Midfielder Tommy Mvula scored the only goal of the match at Walvis Bay’s Atlantic Stadium to make it three wins out of three and consolidate their position at the top of the MTC Premiership on nine points.

On Friday night, Cymot SKW’s new Zimbabwean midfielder Milton Chapo scored both goals in their 2-1 victory against Ramblers.
Chapo opened the scoring on 27m when he fired in at the far post with Ramblers’ defence in disarray, but Ramblers’ substitute striker Dylan Maritz equalised with 10m to go with a long range cracker into the left hand corner.

SKW attacked relentlessly in the final stages with Sheldon du Plessis and Rene Traut both coming close, before Chapo volleyed in the winner in injury time.

The victory puts SKW on seven points – level with Black Africa, who beat United Stars 1-0 in Grootfontein after a goal on 27m by Jerome Louis.

African Stars and Tigers remain fourth and fifth on the log following their goalless draw on Wednesday.

Orlando Pirates moved up to sixth position after a resounding 4-1 victory against Oshakati City in Embandu.

Pirates’ goalscorers were Gerry Keister, Meraai Swartbooi, Frans Uiseb and Ronaldo Tsowaseb, while Raphael Nuumbembe scored a consolation goal for Oshakati. It was Oshakati’s third successive defeat which sees them rooted to the bottom of the log, still having to open their account.

Civics collected their first point of the season when they drew 0-0 with Eleven Arrows at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday evening

Brave Warriors squad to face Zambia - Submitted by Namibiasport on  Wed, 09/30/2009

Brave Warriors coach Tom Saintfiet on Wednesday announced a 25-man squad of home based players in preparation for the Cosafa Challenge competition in Zimbabwe next month where Namibia will face Zambia in their opening match. The squad includes several newcomers, notably Black Africa goalkeeper Arnold Subeb and Blue Waters defender Gottlieb Nakuta.

Subeb last represented Namibia five years ago, but has been in fine form for Black Africa since his return from the South African Mvela League team FC AK last season, while Nakuta, who has helped Blue Waters to the top of the NPL Premiership, last represented Namibia more than a year ago.

Other players who have returned to the squad include defenders Denis Ngueza from African Stars and Gunter von Hundelshausen from SKW; midfielders Sidney Urikhob from Pirates, Marco van Wyk of Black Africa, Tobias Mekondjo from Ramblers, and Tara Katupose from Eleven Arrows; and strikers Muna Katupose from Arrows, Edward Damaseb from Pirates and Tangeni Shipahu from Tigers.

At a press conference at the NFA’s Soccer House, Saintfiet said that he had selected a strong squad which knew his tactics and system. He added that team manager Tim Isaacs would still trying to obtain the release of some South African based professional players from their clubs, but since the Cosafa Challenge competition does not fall on a FIFA international date, it is not sure whether they will be released.

“We will see if we can get players like Hartman Toromba, Steven Goaxub, Michael Pienaa or Sydney Plaatjies, because Ivan Namaseb is injured and I will need an extra defender,” he said.

Saintfiet said he doubted whether Richard Gariseb of Wits, Henrico Botes of Platinum Stars or Paulus Shipanga of Bay United would be released because they were playing regularly for their teams.

On a question whether African Stars goalkeeper Max Mbaeva and midfielder Jamu Ngatjizeko would be considered for the national team again, after being dropped due to ill discipline a year ago, Saintfiet said it would still take some time before they would be considered again.

“Jamu has been performing well the last few games, but the technical staff felt that it is not the right time to recall them. Our goalkeeper Virgil Vries and Athiel Mbaha are playing very well at the moment and our main considerations are the discipline of the players and whether we have other quality players in these positions,” he said.

Saintfiet said they did not have a time frame at this stage regarding their recall.

“I have talked to the players and our problems have long ago been resolved. But if you lose your drivers license for drunken driving then you will be punished and this is the same. There is no time frame and at the moment the door is not open. When we open the door you will hear about it,” he said.

Saintfiet also raised some eyebrows by refusing to answer a question by The Namibian’s sports reporter Corry Ihuhua, who criticised the Brave Warriors for their performance against Swaziland in which they drew 1-all.

“I will not respond to journalists who only attend one out of three home based games and get their facts wrong. I do not have a problem with criticism from journalists who attend national games and try to follow the national team,” he said.

As one of the seeded teams in the tournament Namibia will miss the opening group stages and has been given direct entry into the quarterfinal knockout stages of the tournament where they will come up against Zambia. A defeat will mean the end of their tournament, while a victory will put them through to the semifinals where they will meet the winner between Angola and Mozambique.

Brave Warriors squad

Goalkeepers
Virgil Vries – Eleven Arrows, Athiel Mbaha – Orlando Pirates, Arnold Subeb – Black Africa.

Defenders:
George Hummel – Eleven Arrows, Ralph Ellinger – SKW, Gunter von Hundelshausen – SKW, Gottlieb Nakuta – Blue Waters, Nelson Geingob – Chief Santos, Dennis Ngueza – African Stars.

Midfielders:
Ninja Karongee – African Stars, Quinton Jacobs – African Stars, Edward Asino – Eleven Arrows, Eslin Kamuhanga – Civics, Heini Isaacks – Civics, Romanus Shilongo – Orlando Pirates, Tara Katupose – Eleven Arrows, Rudi Louw – African Stars, Marco van Wyk – Black Africa, Meraai Swartbooi – Orlando Pirates, Tobias Mekondjo – Ramblers, Sidney Urikhob – Orlando Pirates

Strikers
Muna Katupose – Eleven Arrows, Jerome Louis – Black Africa, Edward Damaseb – Orlando Pirates, Tangeni Shipahu – Tigers.

I am done with Ramblers: Tollie van Wyk By: CORRY IHUHUA 07.10.09 http://www.namibian.com.na/sport/local/full-story/archive/2009/october/article/i-am-done-with-ramblers-tollie-van-wyk/

RAMBLERS coach Tollie van Wyk says he quit before being pushed out after the new club management identified a foreign coach to take over.
Van Wyk confirmed to The Namibian Sport yesterday that he had submitted a resignation letter to club bosses and that they accepted it.
His right-hand man, Dove Fransman, is also on the way out after he told club bosses that he had enough too. Also leaving is their long-serving team manager Fernando Viriato, who informed the management through a text message that he was no longer interested in giving his services to the club.
Van Wyk said the management had brought in a German national as goalkeeper coach and recently informed him that the German coach would be made technical director.

“They said he will be my boss and I have to report to him. This is a clear indication that they want to bring him in as a coach and as a result, I decided to resign. You know I don’t like to be treated like that. It is very unprofessional and it undermines my contribution that I have made to this club over the years. I am done with Ramblers,” said Van Wyk.

He said there is no question about his coaching abilities and he does not see a future at a club which disregards his services.
Van Wyk formerly resigned from the club a season before last and spent a short stint with Black Africa before rejoining Ramblers in the second round of last season. 

Club official Jorge da Purificacao confirmed the resignation of the volatile coach, saying that he did not give any reasons for his resignation in the letter.
“The coach did not say why he is leaving and its better to speak to him and find out what he has to say,” said da Purificacao, who took over the club from the former Ramblers management this season. He added that they will look at another coach for the interim, but did not name anyone, saying that an announcement for the new head coach will be made in the next two weeks or so. Ramblers also lost several key players such as Bernadine Mbilizi, who has since joined Eleven Arrows, while their playmaker, Nelson Akwenye, recently joined his childhood side Tigers. A season before last the club lost their lethal striker Pineas Jacob to Civics. The exodus of several other players left Ramblers languishing in mid-table at the end of last season and are currently not considered as real title contenders due to their poor start to the league. Ramblers have so far lost three games from four and are second last from the base of the table, just above Civics with one point to their credit.

SKW go third after beating Hotspurs Submitted by Helge Schutz on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 21:54. Football

Cymot SKW beat Hotspurs 1-0 after a fine freekick by Tjono Jagger shortly before halftime at the SKW field on Thursday evening. SKW won the freekick after a foul outside the box and Jagger stepped up to curl a 20m shot into the right hand corner of the net, giving Hotspurs’ diving keeper Tommy Shilumbu no chance.

The goal was the only highlight of an otherwise dull affair that saw few clear chances on either side. SKW however dominated possession, especially in the first half and were full value for their victory, which puts them level with second placed Black Africa on 10 points, two points behind log leaders Blue Waters.

SKW striker Ronny Hochobeb put in some strong attacks in the opening stages and Hotspurs keeper Tommy Shilumbu was called into action a few times to make some early saves.

Shilumbu and SKW defender Gunter von Hundelshausen clashed heads after going for a high ball on 15m and both players had to receive treatment, with von Hundelshausen been taken to hospital to have stitches to a cut. Shilumbu continued to play but later received treatment again and seemed to be suffering from concussion.

Back on the field of play, Sheldon du Plessis and Milton Chapo were combining well in midfield for SKW, but Hotspurs’ defence, with Peka Hamukwaya in fine form, stood firm.

Chapo and Tjono Jagger both came close with long range efforts before Jagger broke the deadlock with his well taken freekick on 36m.

Hotspurs pushed hard in search of the equaliser in the second half but could not break through SKW’s defence, which was well marshalled by Ralph Ellinger.

In the final stages Leonard Stanley came close for Hotspurs when he twice broke through SKW’s defence, but SKW keeper Sven Wiedenroth was alert and managed to clear the danger.

SKW face upbeat Bucs: Submitted by Corry Ihuhua - NAMIBIAN

SPORT Klub Windhoek will stare into the jaws of mighty Orlando Pirates when the MTC Premiership resumes at the Sam Nujoma Stadium tomorrow. Kick-off is at 20h00. SKW collected three crucial points against Hotspurs last Wednesday after midfielder Tjono Jagger struck a 25-metre free kick to sink the Soweto-based side to lift his side to fifth spot before last weekend’s matches. This time, SKW, with the trio of Richard Starke, Lucky Kakuva and Rolf Beiter as mentors, have to dig deep if they wish to go past an upbeat Pirates side which comes from a 3-2 victory over Blue Waters on Saturday.
SKW struggled to find the net against Hotspurs which did not look too difficult to beat last Wednesday, but will now be presented with a chance to show their real mettle against a more robust and polished side.

Pirates however also have top brush up on their striking force which despite goals coming from Mohammed Ouseb, Johannes Seibeb and Meraai Swaartbooi at the weekend, made them too ordinary against a really competitive Blue Waters side. The SKW defence have only conceded four goals thus far, but their midfielders have to play more purposefully to provide quality balls for their strikers if they want to make a dent.

On Thursday, Hotspurs take to the field against their Tigers whom they also beat last season. Tigers however come from a satisfying win against Black Africa and will go in as favourites. African Stars have the chance to move into the first spot on Friday when they meet a struggling Ramblers side which recently lost their head coach Tollie van Wyk. United Stars meet Oshakati City in Tsumeb on Saturday, while Black Africa will have their hands full with an Eleven Arrows side which is still looking for a win after their four matches to date.

Arrows coaches Ronnie Kanalelo and Congo Hindjou have no choice to pull this one off as the supporters are becoming impatient.
Club owner Johnny Doëseb has given the pair at least five matches to bring in the desired results and a loss against Black Africa will undoubtedly leave a big question mark hanging over their future of the duo. Blue Waters will be home to lick their wounds against Civics which at the weekend also picked up their first points. Lucky Shipanga’s side with no doubt showed that they are premiership material and will aim to hunt down Civics which has still not yet hit top gear this season. Blue Waters are still on top of the table with 12 points and will try to remain in the top-three bracket after the weekend match.


Gutsy Warriors bow out of Cosafa with boots on - by Carlos Kambaekwa  26 October 2009

WINDHOEK – Brave Warrior’s goalkeeper Athiel Mbaha turned from hero to villain when the giant shot stopper totally misjudged an innocent looking ball that eventually led to the killer punch. The gutsy Namibians played their lungs out against Zambia in their opening quarterfinal match against Zambia in the Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup at the Rufaro Stadium in Harare yesterday.

Chipolopolo came out like men possessed and had the Namibians on the back foot in the opening stages. Zambia could have been at least three goals to the good had it not been for the heroics of Mbaha. The agile shot stopper denied Felix Sunzu a certain goal when he dived at full length to stop the giant Zambian striker’s goal-bound header. The Orlando Pirates net guard made subsequent breathtaking saves from Stoppila Sunzu and his ever-present namesake Felix who was a constant thorn in the flesh of the courageous Namibian rearguard. Coach Tom Sainfiet packed his midfield, deploying Tangeni Shipahu as a lone ranger upfront. Zambia laid siege on the Namibian goal but the centre back pair of George Hummel and Ralph Ellinger was in an uncompromising mood.
Henry Banda finally beat Mbaha, but his powerful header in the 25th minute could not beat the crossbar – much to the relief of the Warriors’ bench.
At the other end, Sidney Plaatjies tested Joshua Titima, who was a virtual spectator in the opening 45 minutes with a long-range scorcher but the alert goalie was equal to the task. Hummel almost gifted the Zambians the lead when his reckless clearance bounced off Sunzu but luckily the ball went agonizingly wide. Such was Zambia’s dominance in the opening 45 minutes that had it been a boxing bout, the referee would have been obliged by the rules to stop the contest. The Warriors were thrown a lifeline when the Zambian technical staff surprisingly withdrew the troublesome Sunzu for Jimmy Ndhlovu at the restart. His departure seemed to be just what the good doctor has ordered for the wounded Warriors.

Midfielder Rudi Louw was guilty of giving away ball possession at the slightest provocation and it came as no surprise when the pocket size schemer was called to the sidelines to make way for Fadiga Asino. The move paid dividends as the Warriors started to string a couple of decent passes together. As the match wore on, Namibia gained the much needed confidence and Saintfiet responded by unleashing Lovers Kamuhanga and Heini Isaacs in place of Plaatjies and Meraai Swartbooi. Zambia was awarded a penalty when Ellinger was adjudged to have fouled Luka Lunga in the danger zone. Banda stepped up to take the spot kick, which was well saved by Mbaha.

With the dreaded penalty shootout looming and the fans rallying behind the gutsy Namibians, a costly lapse of concentration saw Mbaha misjudge an innocent looking cross. The ball fell neatly at the feet of Stoppila Sunzu, who could not believe his luck and blasted the loose ball into the roof of the net from close range with four minutes of play left on the clock. Referee Abdul Ibrahim brought relief to the Zambians when he blew the final whistle. The Warriors might have lost but the boys deserve a pat on the back for their willingness to die with their boots on.

Brave Warriors skipper Quinton “Magic” Jacobs, who otherwise had a quite game by his own standards was surprisingly chosen “man of the match” ahead of more deserving teammates Ellinger and Mbaha. Final score: Zambia 1 – 0 Namibia.

The Brave Warriors left to Zimbabwe this morning ( 22/10/09 ). In  Harare the team will have two training sessions before their match against Zambia on Sunday.  The match is scheduled to start at 15h15 Namibian time. Multichoice Namibia confirmed, that the match will be televised live on SuperSport 4.
SKW's Ralph Ellinger and Günter von Hundelshausen are in the final squad which was announced yesterday. Ralph Ellinger who played alongside with George Hummel were marshalling Namibia’s defence well against the SA Development Team on Tsuesday night.

The final squad consists of 19 players: 

Attiel MBAHA
Virgill VRIES
George HUMMEL
Ralph ELLINGER
Günter von HUNDELSHAUSEN
Gottlieb NAKUTA
Quinton JACOBS
Eslin KAMUHANGA
Steven GOAGAB
Hartman TOROMBA
Sydney PLAATJIES
Ninja KARONGEE
Heinrich ISAACKS
Edward ASINO
Romanus SHILONGO
Rudi LOUW
Levi SWARTBOOI
Edward DAMASEB
Tangeni SHIPAHU


Civics' woes continue - by Helge Schutz 6 November 2009

Civics’ woes continued on Friday night when they lost 2-1 to SKW after Sledge Gowaseb scored a late winning goal for the German club. Milton Chapo gave SKW an early lead when he headed in from a corner on 9m, but Civics equalised on 27m when Pinias Jacob volleyed in from close range.

The match seemed to be heading for a draw, but SKW midfielder Gowaseb had other ideas when he scored the winner with a great solo effort with five minutes remaining. The victory temporarily put SKW in third position, four points off the pace, while Civics remain eighth with only four points from seven matches. Civics came out attacking but it was SKW who took the lead when Chapo headed in a corner by Pitzi Eichhoff.

Civics fought back with Bradley Werman, Pinias Jacob and Eslin Kamuhanga putting in some strong attacks, while defender Erastus Ndjavera nearly scored from a goalmouth scramble. Civics finally got the equaliser when Werman flicked the ball on to Jacob who volleyed the ball past SKW’s 16-year-old keeper Andre Fug. Three minutes later Fug pulled off a great save from a Jacob header and just before halftime Werman hit the back of the net but the goal was disallowed for offside.

Neither side had much chances in the second half as most of the action took place in the midfield. Gowaseb and Eichhoff put in some strong runs for SKW, while at the other end, Werman came close with a curling freekick which was well saved by Fug.

SKW however had the final say with a great individual goal by Gowaseb on 85m. He latched onto a throughball into the box and in one move, chipped the ball over Civics keeper Ephraim Tjihonge and then volleyed the ball into an empty net.

Civics lose after injury time goal Submitted by Helge Schutz, 11/11/2009

Civics suffered a cruel defeat against Orlando Pirates on Wednesday, going down 2-1 after an injury time goal by Pirates midfielder Ekano Ndille. Striker John Samson put Pirates ahead on 49m but Civics pulled a goal back through Pineas Jacob on 62m.

Civics did most of the attacking in the final stages but it was Pirates who scored the winner, deep into injury time when a header by Ekane Ndille went looping over Civics’ keeper Ephraim Tjihonge into an empty net. The victory puts Pirates five points clear at the top of the log, while Civics’ woes continue as it was their sixth defeat in eight matches.

Pirates did the early attacking with Meraai Swartbooi and Klaas Blom prominent, but the match took a dramatic turn on 16m when Civics captain Erastus Ndjavera fouled Blom. Referee Alex Tiyeho immediately gave Ndjavera a yellow card, but tempers ran high amongst the players and after Ndjavera and Pirates defender Mohammed Ouseb exchanged some choice words they were both sent off by Tiyeho.

Civics nearly took the lead two minutes later when Bradley Wermann headed against the post from a corner, while at the other end, John Samson and Teophelus Tsowaseb both came close to scoring.

Pirates took the lead shortly after the restart when Johannes Seibeb sent a freekick into the box and Samson swooped to head the ball into the net at the near post.

Civics however soon equalised when Bradley Wermann put Pineas Jacob free and he sent in a dipping 30m shot which flummoxed Pirates keeper Athiel Mbaha and dipped in at the near post.

Mbaha soon redeemed himself when he pulled off a stunning reflex save from Civics’ new signing, the former Chief Santos midfielder, Alfred Njenge, while substitute winger Eslin Kamuhanga created more chances for Civics with his strong runs down the left wing.

The match seemed to be heading for a draw when Pirates won a freekick in injury time and Seibeb whipped in a cross that Ndille headed on and over Tjihonge into an empty net.

It was a cruel blow for Civics who had done most of the attacking in the second half, but could not convert their chances into goals.

It was Civics’ owner Helmut Scharnowski’s first match in charge after he took over from Ricardo Mannetti as head coach, but so far, the change of personnel has not resulted in a change of fortune for the Civilians.

Pirates 2:
John Samson 49m
Ekano Ndille 92m
Civics 1
Pineas Jacob 62'

Black Africa thrash Ramblers Submitted by Helge Schutz, 13/11/2009

Black Africa moved up to second position on the MTC Premiership log after an emphatic 5-0 victory against Ramblers on Thursday night. An early goal against the run of play by Willy Stephanus gave BA a 1-0 lead at halftime, but the floodgates opened in the second half as Bryan Bantam, Roger Katjiteo and Clarence Foroma (two) all found the net.

Ramblers did the early attacking but Black Africa took the lead from their first attack when Willy Stephanus broke through the defence to slot the ball past Ramblers’ keeper Lukas Hashiti.

In an uneventful first half, Ramblers had most of the ball possession but they seldom troubled BA’s defence. At the other end, Black Africa striker Jerome Louis came close when he volleyed a Stephanus cross wide of goals.

Black Africa upped the tempo after the break and Hans Witbooi came close early on when his shot hit the crossbar from a corner.

Their pressure paid off on 62m when a Louis shot was blocked and Bryan Bantam pounced onto the loose ball to hit the back of the net with a 25m shot.

BA’s young striker Roger Katjiteo replaced Stephanus on 64m and soon made an impact when he latched onto a Marco van Wyk throughball to beat the defence and Hashiti to put the ball into an empty net.

Ramblers suffered a further blow when defender Dylan Mieze was red carded for kicking Katjiteo in the face, although it did seem accidental, and BA soon went further ahead.

Clarence Foroma made it 4-0 when he broke through and sidefooted the ball past a diving Hashiti on 85m and two minutes later he scored a similar goal, sidefooting the ball into the left hand corner of the net.

The victory saw BA move up to second position on the log, three points behind log leaders Orlando Pirates, while they have now scored 10 goals in their last two matches.

For Ramblers, there was little to savour, and their struggle continues as they still search for their first victory of the season.

Black Africa:
Stephanus 10m
Bantam 62m
Katjiteo 69m
Foroma 85m, 87m

Stars beat Pirates Submitted by Helge Schutz, 11/21/2009

African Stars went to the top of the log for the first time this season after beating Orlando Pirates 2-0 at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Friday night. In a dramatic match in front of the season’s biggest crowd of about 6 000 fans, both sides attacked from the start.

Stars midfielder Quinton Jacobs came close early on, when his shot was well saved by Athiel Mbaha, while Pirates’ young striker Theophelus Tsowaseb missed a great chance when he beat the defence but could not control a centre into the box.
Jacobs once again came close for Stars when he shot over the bar from a Stars corner, before Stars took a controversial lead on 23m.

Striker Henry Somseb broke free into Pirates’ box after exchanging passes with Heinrich Kazerua, but he seemed to handle the ball before shooting past Mbaha, but Pirates’ protestations were ignored and the goal stood.

Pirates came out attacking in the second half and had numerous opportunities to level the score, with Tsowaseb and second half replacements Edward Damaseb and Sydney Urikhob coming close.

But Stars weathered the storm and increased their lead on 72m when Ivan Makina fouled Rudi Louw in Pirates’ box.

Referee Reinhold Shikongo flashed a red card to Makina for his second bookable offence but a furious Makina refused to leave the field and had to be restrained by his team mates before security force members had to remove Makina from the field.

When order was finally restored Kazerua stepped up to score from the penalty spot to give Stars a commanding lead.

Jacobs and Rudi Louw both came close with long range efforts in the final stages as Stars held on for the victory, which sees them replacing Pirates at the top of the log.

African Stars 2 Pirates 0
Henry Somseb 23m
Heinrich Kazerua 72m

Stars go to the top Submitted by Helge Schutz, 22/11/2009 

African Stars have taken the lead in the MTC Premiership title race for the first time this season after beating Katutura rivals Orlando Pirates 2-0 on Friday. Henry Somseb gave Stars the lead on 23m before Heinrich Kazerua scored from the penalty spot on 72m.

The victory saw Stars overtaking Pirates at the top of the log on 21 points, while Pirates drop down to second position on 20 points.

Black Africa wasted a great opportunity to close in on the leaders when they were held to a 2-all draw by Blue Waters at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday night. Jerome Louis gave BA a 1-0 lead when he headed in a cross by Gift Kwaramba, but they wasted a great chance to go further ahead when Clarence Foroma blasted a penalty over the crossbar. They were made to pay as Blue Waters came back strongly in the second half, with Bolle Haraseb scoring a brace, while Louis completed his brace for BA.

SKW

SKW put their recent 4-0 defeat to African Stars behind them when they thrashed United Stars 9-3 at the SKW Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

SKW took a 3-1 lead at halftime, but the visitors pulled level at 3-all shortly after the restart. That’s however as far as they got as SKW went into overdrive to bang six more goals in.

Their Zimbabwean midfielder Milton Chapo led the charge with four goals, while Gustav Isaak scored two and Warren Neidel, Sheldon du Plessis and Ronnie Hochobeb one each.

In Embandu, Oshakati City recorded only their second win of the season when they beat Eleven Arrows 1-0 with Max Nuumbembe scoring the winner.

On Wednesday, Civics and Hotspurs drew 4-all after Civics led 2-1 at the break. Hotspurs were reduced to 10 men shortly after the restart when Enkali Mbako was sent off for a second foul, but Hotspurs refused to surrender and gave a great fighting display to force a draw.

Civics’ scorers were Pineas Jacob, Donnely Nel, Eslin Kamuhanga and Alfred Ndjenge, while Pinias Sheya (two), Lucky Kooper and Petrus Gideon scored for Hotspurs.

On Thursday, Ramblers held Tigers to a goalless draw after Ramblers keeper Helmut Maletsky saved a penalty by Tangeni Shipahu.

SKW schießt sich zum Rekordsieg AZ - online vom 23.11.2009

Premierliga: United Stars erleben Torreigen in Olympia – African Stars übernehmen Tabellenführung

Der Sport-Klub Windhoek (SKW) hat mit einem imponierenden 9:3-Sieg gegen die United Stars einen Rekordsieg in der namibischen Fußball-Premierliga eingefahren, während Meister African Stars die Mannschaft von Orlando Pirates von der Tabellenspitze stürzte.

Windhoek – Nach einem 3:1-Halbzeitstand liefen die Teams vom SKW und von United Stars, vom darauffolgenden Torspektakel noch nichts ahnend, am Samstagnachmittag im SKW-Stadion in Olympia zum zweiten Durchgang auf. Die grün-weiße Truppe schien es sich kurz nach dem Wiederanpfiff schon wieder verspielt zu haben, als die Gäste aus Rundu mit zwei Toren in wenigen Minuten zum Ausgleich trafen. Doch eine überlegenere SKW-Mannschaft hatte noch ausreichend Feuerkraft im Arsenal. Was den United Stars in der zweiten Hälfte als eine Wiederauferstehung schien, verwandelte sich nach dem Ausgleich in ein „Massaker“. Die Mannschaft aus Olympia ließ keinen Zweifel daran, dass sie nach der 0:4-Klatsche gegen die African Stars am vergangenen Spieltag wieder einen Sieg ergattern wollte. Mit sechs weiteren Treffern in der zweiten Halbzeit demonstrierte dies der SKW auf spektakuläre Art und schrieb sich mit dem 9:3-Endstand einen Rekordsieg in der Premierliga zu. Spieler des Tages war SKW-Stürmer Milton Chapo, der mit vier Treffern aus dieser Partie nun die Torschützenliste anführt. Der amtierende Meister African Stars setze seine Siegesserie fort und löste die Orlando Pirates nach einem 2:0-Sieg gegen die „Piraten“ am Freitagabend an der Tabellenspitze ab. Henry Somseb und Heinrich Kazerua erzielten die beiden Treffer in dem Spitzenduell und erhöhten somit den Punktestand der „Sterne“ auf 21. Danach folgen die Pirates mit 20 Zählern auf Platz zwei. Die in der aktuellen Saison noch ungeschlagenen African Stars stehen nun wieder als absoluter Titelfavorit da. Die Mannschaften von Black Africa und Blue Waters trennten sich 2:2 und verbleiben jeweils auf Rang drei und vier. Indes konnten sich die Ramblers mit einem torlosen Unentschieden gegen die Tigers trösten, nachdem die Blau-Weißen am vergangenen Spieltag eine 0:5-Niederlage gegen Black Africa einstecken mussten. Jedoch rangiert die Mannschaft aus Pionierspark weiterhin sieglos auf dem zweitletzten Rang. Die Tigers-Mannschaft liegt jetzt mit einem Punkt hinter Blue Waters (17) auf dem fünften Platz und ist dem SKW nur durch eine bessere Tordifferenz voraus. Im Kellerduell, das bereits am Mittwoch stattfand, trennten sich Civics und Tabellenschlusslicht Hotspurs mit einem 4:4 und verweilen somit immer noch am unteren Ende der Tabelle. Besser machte es Oshakati City, nachdem sie durch einen 1:0-Sieg gegen die Küstenkicker der Eleven Arrows auf den viertletzten Platz vorrückten.

Von Frowin Becker
Gute Laune beim SKW - AZ - online vom 26.11.2009

Windhoek - Nach dem Rekordsieg des Sportklub Windhoek wird sich in der Mannschaft alles andere als zurück gelehnt. Der Trainerstab hat mit den Spielern in den letzten drei Tagen sehr hart trainiert, um die gut Form zu konservieren. Trotz des intensiven Trainings ist die Stimmung im Team immer noch hervorragend. Einzig eine aktuelle Rückenverletzung Milton Chapos beunruhigt die Trainer. Da die SKW erst Mitte nächster Woche wieder spielt sucht der Klub momentan Gegner für zwei Freundschaftsspiele. „Ich weiß nur nicht, ob sich Jemand traut, gegen uns zu spielen“, scherzte ein munterer Rolf Beiter und bezog sich damit auf den erspielten Rekordsieg letzter Woche.

Von Andreas Ludwig http://www.az.com.na/sport/gute-laune-beim-skw.98378.php
More prize money for Leo NFA Cup - by Helge Schutz

The winner of the 2010 Leo NFA Cup will receive N$600 000, an increase of N$100 000 on this year’s competition. This was announced by the Chief Commercial Officer of Leo, Chris Keeping at a press conference in Windhoek on Wednesday to launch the 2010 Leo NFA Cup. The prize money for the runner up has also been increased from N$200 000 to N$250 000, while the losing semifinalists will each receive N$100 000.

Besides that, prize money for individual performers has also increased with the Top Goal scorer of the Series and the Player of the Series each receiving N$25 000.

The prize money for the entire 2010 competition will amount to more than N$1 million, while the total sponsorship will amount to about N$3 million. The sponsorship is in its second year of a three-year deal between Leo and the NFA to sponsor Namibia’s premier cup competition.

“The sponsorship amount for 2010 equates to about N$3 million to cover for teams’ playing gear, prize giveaways, stadium branding, administration, broadcasting, final match event as well as promotion and advertising,” Keeping said.

“Football is one of the most popular sports in Namibia and we are delighted to be contributing towards the development of the game. Last year’s final match between Orlando Pirates and Eleven Arrows was the most memorable in recent years and we look forward to a bigger and better competition this year,” he added.

The 2010 Leo NFA Cup will start on January 24 when about 200 clubs throughout Namibia will be involved in the preliminary stages. After the preliminary round, the defending champions Orlando Pirates will be joined in the first round by 31 other clubs who will have qualified from their various regions and leagues, including those in the Namibia Premier League.

The secretary general of the NFA, Barry Rukoro thanked Leo for their sponsorship, saying that the 2010 event will set new record attendances.

“There is only one month left before the preliminary round starts all over the country and the NFA is therefore continuing with preparations to make this the best ever Leo NFA Cup. Last season saw one of the best finals so far, but we are confident that this year will set a new attendance record for the competition,” he said.

Rukoro promised that fans would be informed timeously about the development and progress of the competition.

“We will have new innovations aimed at keeping the media and the fans informed about what is happening next. The draw of the next round will take place immediately after the last one is completed. We want o move away from keeping you in suspense for weeks before the draw eventually takes place,” he said.
Akan resigns from Black Africa

Katutura giants Black Africa’s title ambitions received a major setback on Tuesday with the announcement that Ali Akan has resigned as head coach. Akan confirmed to Namibia Sport that he had resigned, but refused to be drawn into the reasons for his shock resignation.

“I can confirm that I have left Black Africa, but I don’t want to comment about it at this stage,” he told Namibia Sport.

Black Africa chairman Kandas Paulino confirmed Akan’s resignation, saying that he had already been informed about it a week ago. “Ali told me last Monday over the phone that he has resigned. He said he would submit his resignation in writing but I am still waiting for his letter,” he said. Paulino said he had no idea why Akan had resigned, although it could have been due to financial reasons. “I suspect it could be due to financial reasons. There were rumours that he had received a higher offer and I asked him if that was true but he denied this,” he said. Akan’s resignation comes at a difficult stage as Black Africa will now have to take on SKW without a recognised coach on Wednesday night.

According to Paulino, Black Africa’s assistant coach Dirkie Beukes has been in charge of the team for the past week. “Ali’s resignation is a blow for us and it comes at a difficult time. But we must now complete the first round and then we will think about appointing a new coach after the break,” he said. Akan has played a major role in turning around Black Africa’s fortunes since he took over at the club in February 2009, midway through the previous season. At that stage BA were lying sixth on the log, having lost five of their opening 11 matches. Under Akan, however, they went on a fantastic unbeaten run of 11 matches to eventually finish third on the log.

This season, Black Africa have also been in fine form and are currently lying third on the log, three points behind log leaders African Stars. Without Akan at the helm, they could struggle, especially since their last match of the first round on Friday, December 11, is against traditional archrivals Orlando Pirates.

Arrows, Stars match abandoned - Submitted by Helge Schurtz, 29/11/2009

Eleven Arrows and United Stars’ fifth round Premiership match ended in disarray on Sunday when Stars’ players walked off the field after their defender Daniel Namwira was red carded for a foul. Namwira refused to leave the field and after consultations with their bench, Stars’ players all sat down and refused to continue with the match. After a delay of 15 minutes the referee called an end to the match.

At that stage Arrows were leading 2-1 but it is not clear whether that result will stand or whether the match will have to be replayed. The Namibia Premier League will now have to make a decision based on the match commissioner’s report and a fine for United Stars for bringing the game into disrepute could also be a possibility.

It was a disappointing end to a match that had already been postponed since the beginning of October due to an inadequate pitch at the Asab stadium in Karibib. Arrows’ home ground at the Kuisebmond Stadium had been unavailable since the start of the season due to maintenance, but it was finally ready and re-opened for the United Stars encounter.

The Rundu-based visitors took an early lead when Steven Matjayi scored with a stunning long-range strike on 10m.
Arrows immediately equalised two minutes later when Tara Katupose latched onto a throughball to score from close range.
Arrows continued to attack and took a 2-1 lead on 22m when Katupose completed his brace, after scoring from a layoff.

The match was regularly interrupted by fouls from both sides and Arrows’ defender Chris Katjiukua was sent off after picking up a second yellow car on 30m.

United Stars’ numerical advantage however did not last long as Namwira was red carded 5m later before the match was called off.

Black Africa beat SKW after great comeback - by Helge Schutz 12/02/2009

Black Africa staged a great second half comeback to beat SKW 4-2 at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Wednesday night. SKW led 2-1 at halftime but BA stepped up the tempo after the break to run out comfortable winners. In the process they also went to the top of the log for the first time this season, replacing African Stars, whom they lead on goal difference.

Black Africa did the early attacking but SKW took the lead against the run of play when Milton Chapo put Gustav Isaak clear to score from close range.

BA however had most of the possession and drew level midway through the first half when Jerome Louis latched onto a Bryan Bantam throughball into SKW’s box, to blast the ball past SKW keeper Harry January high into the net.

SKW regained the lead just before halftime when Milton Chapo sent Edwin Korukuve clear on the right, who beat BA keeper Arnold Subeb with a terrific 30m shot.

BA however took control of the match with two goals in two minutes. BA striker Clrence Foroma rifled in a cross from the left which Januarie managed to parry away, but BA’s substitute striker Roger Katjiteo was up in a flash to volley the rebound into the net.

A minute later Louis turned provider when he crossed from the right and Foroma stabbed the ball in at the far post to put BA ahead for the first time.

Bryan Bantam capped a great performance with a superb goal midway through the second half when he received the ball in the middle of the park and lobbed a 40m shot high over Harry Januarie into an empty net.

Round 10
Black Africa 4 SKW 2
Black Africa
Jerome Louis 25’, Roger Katjiteo 55’, Clarence Foroma 56’, Bryan Bantam 78’.
SKW
Gustav Isaak 11’, Edwin Korukuve 44’.

Civics shock Stars Submitted by Helge Schutz, 12/04/2009

Civics pulled off a major upset with a 1-0 victory against defending champions African Stars on Friday night. Ashley Jossop scored the only goal of the match after 16m, when he headed in a corner, to give Civics a vital victory and hand Stars their first defeat of the season.

Stars had their fair share of chances, but Civics played above themselves in a battling performance, that saw the game being disrupted due to numerous injuries on both sides. Further disruptions came midway through the second half when Stars fans pelted bottles onto the pitch after a penalty for a handball was disallowed, and when referee Daniel Kamukwanyama blew the final whistle after only one minute of stoppage time added, some disgruntled fans once again pelted beer cans.

Stars did the early attacking through wingers Edison Muheua and Heinrich Kazerua, but Civics took the lead against the run of play when Jossop rose unopposed to head in Tugela Tuyeni’s corner. Henry Somseb came close for Stars when a 30m shot skimmed the upright, while a Ronald Ketjijere shot was well blocked by Erastus Ndjavera. Stars suffered a setback when coach Bobby Samaria was ordered off the bench for arguing on 38m, and just before halftime, Civics keeper Ephraim Tjihonge cleared the ball just in time, ahead of the onrushing Somseb.

The second half was interspersed with numerous fouls, as Alfred Ndjenge of Civics and Quinton Jacobs of Stars both received yellow cards. Civics’ speedy striker Pineas Jacob had a great match and scored from a corner on 68m but the goal was disallowed for an earlier infringement. There was drama in Civics’ box as Tjihonge failed to control a high ball before his defence cleared the danger, and then more drama erupted when Stars’ fans pelted bottles onto the pitch after the referee turned down appeals for a handball.

Civics held out for the victory which sees them moving up one place to ninth on the log with eight points, while Stars remain second on 21 points, just below Black Africa on goal difference.
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