Restoring players’ dreams

Jesse Jackson Kauraisa WINDHOEKMTC’s chief human capital and corporate affairs officer Tim Ekandjo says that the telecommunications giant made the Namibia Football Association (NFA) Cup possible not for leaders, but for the players.The next three months will provide a platform for many footballers who thought they would never play the beautiful game in the Land of the Brave again.Last year, MTC announced a sponsorship of N$4.5 million per year towards the NFA Cup for a period of three years.“We are going to give the players an opportunity to compete and realise their dreams and to play football, because that is what it us all about.“We are going to bring together almost over 220 teams - which translates to over 4000 players - and that is what MTC is about.“We passed that stage where we want to sell a brand; we are here for the players,” Ekandjo said.Lucrative competitionThe unveiling of the lucrative competition, which will pit clubs from the divisions and premier league against one another, served as a beacon of hope for many players who have lost their livelihoods due to the lack of football activity in the country.Teams will have an opportunity to pocket a whopping N$500 000 for the first place, while second place will earn the runner-up team N$250 000.The third and fourth teams will win N$150 000 and N$100 000 respectively.The competition rules state that there will be elimination rounds where the first division leagues as well as second divisions will participate.“The dates set out for these preliminary rounds is 17 and 18 April as well as 24 and 25 April,” Namibia Premier Football League (NPFL) director Mabos Vries said.Allocated funds for the preliminary rounds are N$50 000 for first division leagues for their expenses and five balls, while second division leagues will receive N$30 0000 and five balls.“There is also prize money for the preliminary rounds and there will be a prize of N$20 000, while the runner-up will receive N$10 000 and the two semi-finalists losers in each of their regions takes home N$5 000.“The two teams that come out on top for the first division streams will qualify to the round of 32, while only the winning team will qualify to the round of 32 from the second division streams,” Vries noted.This means that 14 clubs from the second division and six from the first division streams will join the 12 NPFL clubs to play in the round of 32.This round will take place during the weekend of 13 May, while the round of 16 will take place in June.The quarterfinals will be played on 3 July, while the semi-final will take place over the weekend of 17 and 18 July.The final of the competition will be played on 31 July. AccountabilityNFA president Ranga Haikali assured MTC that the association will run the competition with accountability.“We need to protect this brand and not tarnish it with unwanted football politics and squabbles.“I take this opportunity once again to thank MTC for having taken this decision, which I can assure you is in the best interest of Namibian people,” Haikali said. MTC has also resolved to allow external sponsors to brand the club shirts, while the MTC competition logo will feature on upper front and backside of the players’ shirts.“For the first time, we are going to have kits that are locally produced by a Namibian brand,” Ekandjo said.

Restoring players’ dreams

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-07

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Restoring players’ dreams

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-07

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