Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Namibian Newspaper Cup should be commended for its unwavering support of football development in the country, says ex-Namibia Football Association (NFA) president Immanuel Namaseb.
The 21st edition of the annual competition, proudly brought to you by Standard Bank, was launched on Monday at Otjiwarongo, where it will take place over the Easter long weekend (7 to 10 April).
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch, Namaseb said the NFA relies heavily on the tournament for talent identification towards the under-20 and -23 national sides, which in turn replenish the Brave Warriors’ ranks.
“The cup is known to everybody. The Namibian Newspaper Cup is a brand, it has been going for a very long time. It is a very good initiative from The Namibian,” said Namaseb, who remains the youngest ever NFA president when he was elected into power in 1997 aged 34.
“We have a good chance of grooming players for the national teams with a competition like The Namibian Newspaper Cup,” he continued.
“Every child growing up is very eager to graduate to become a regional player and be called up to play in The Namibian Newspaper Cup. That is the breeding ground for our players. Discipline, sportsmanship and talent is developed at that level.
And with the introduction of netball a few years ago, it is even greater.
Standard Bank’s manager for the central and northern regions, Frieda Albertse, reinforced the banking institution’s commitment to the youth sport festival.
“Namibia is our home, we drive her growth. It is important for us to be intentional when deciding which organisations and events we partner with,” Albertse said.
We collaborate when we believe the event is purpose-driven and add value to grow our communities. We are proud that Standard Bank is once again the main sponsor of The Namibian Newspaper Cup.”
Investing in the youth and seeing them grow as a result is the motivation behind The Namibian’s continued involvement with the project, said the media company’s deputy editor, Isack Hamata.
“We as partners in The Namibian Newspaper Cup create an enabling environment to become productive citizens in sport. The Namibian Newspaper Cup and NFA, Netball Namibia, The Namibian, Standard Bank and the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service pride themselves on this remarkable investment to grow and develop the youth to become professionals earning foreign currency to reinvest those earnings in the Namibian economy,” Hamata said.
The competition realises an injection of at least N$3 million in the town where the competition is held, he added.
Meanwhile, the immediate rewards for teams, players and match officials remain unchanged from the last edition held at Oshakati. The overall winner’s prize remains at N$30 000 for the football, while the runner up gets N$20 000 and the semi-final losers N$16 000 each.
The fair play award is worth N$3 000, while the overall best player, goalkeeper of the tournament and top scorer will each receive N$2 000. Each player of the match gets N$500 for their effort.
For the netball section, the first prize is worth N$25 000, second place is N$12 500 and N$6 250 for the team finishing third;
The team that places fourth best will be rewarded with N$3 125.
The individual prizes are as follows: player of the match N$250; best shooter N$500; best centre N$500; best defender N$500; and player of the tournament N$500.
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