Okakarara propels Orange Army to prominence

It took the nine year-old Okakarara Young Warriors just three seasons of organised football to reach the Namibia Premier Football League (NPFL).

Their next target is to give the aristocracy of the domestic game a run for their money once the new season kicks off. That is the way of the youth who are the cornerstone of the Orange Army, which rose rapidly through the ranks to win promotion to the topflight with two fixtures to spare on Sunday.

“I’m proud that we only played three seasons, two seasons in the Otjozondjupa Second Division league and one season in the North West First Division league and then got promoted to the top league,” said Okakarara Young Warriors’ chairperson Owen Simataa in an interview with The Namibian Sport this week.

The Warriors have brought joy, pride and prestige to Okakarara and its surrounding settlements, says euphoric Warriors’ top fan Immaculate Zetavi Hameva.

“We’re over the moon,” she said. “It is a wonderful thing to have a club from our parts in the big league. Our team has saved a lot of people from the hassle of having to travel far to watch premier league football.

“We look forward to those big teams coming to Okakarara to play our team. But of course, we will follow the boys everywhere when we can. They are not alone, we’re together,” Hameva said.

“We are not going back, we’re moving forward. We worked hard to get there [topflight], so we plan to stay there,” Hameva declared.

Not even the club’s founders had envisioned its meteoric rise to prominence when in 2015, former traffic office chief Napoleon Morenga gathered a group of working class football enthusiasts to find productive outlets for Okakarara’s impressionable youth.

“We felt the youth was going down the drain by being taken away by bad habits like drug and alcohol abuse and gangsterism in Okakarara’s streets. We felt we could not stand aside and needed to remedy the youth,” club deputy chairperson Marama Kavita said of the club’s origins.

The club’s netball wing did not take off as hoped “because of some reasons”, Kavita said. Nonetheless, the football side has uplifted the community and brought the promise of prosperity to the youth.

Ex-Life Fighters and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Emil Katjimune is the head coach, with former Eleven Arrows, Life Fighters and Mighty Gunners stalwart Veno Namolo his deputy.

“Prior to the club’s establishment, we had a local football league in Okakarara which did not work out properly because there was no promotion, so the youth looked up to nothing. They did not take it seriously,” Kavita recalls.

“So, we decided to register a community team with the North West League First Division with the aim to one day reach the premier league, which was actually realised earlier than we had foreseen.”

SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

Ordinarily, to achieve a meteoric ascent from non-league status to premier league level in under three seasons would be attributed to having deep pockets. But resources are scarce for the Warriors from Okakarara who had to overcome untold hardships to realise their ambition.

Instead, a shared sense of community responsibility coupled with prudent and stable management allowed the talent to shine on the field.

“We’ve had no real [substantive] sponsor or support. The Okakarara Town Council bought us a set of jerseys. Together with that, we used to borrow jerseys from local teams like Touch and Go, owned by our current head coach and Okakarara All Stars,” Kavita said.

“Currently, we are using soccer jerseys that we received from Gerd Wolbling, a local businessman, and are to receive another set from him and his business this Wednesday [today]. Other local businesses help us out here and there with small amounts. It really helped us a lot to keep going.

“We were promoted due the determination, commitment and hard work of the management. We had nearly the same management we started with. Each management member contributes a flat amount with which we rent a house to house our players without accommodation,” detailed Kavita.

The club’s executive also consists of secretary Fabiola Tjaveondja, as well as Seth Maharero, Verna Tjeriko, Uetuesapi Mujoro and Imakulata Uaetuiihe as the treasurers.

“Farmers like Kapiu Rupingena and others helped with meat or milk or omaere to help feed the boys. We really appreciate all your efforts. It was not easy to maintain the team and keep the boys focused, especially with the little aid from the Namibia Football Association through our league,” said Kavita.

The Otjozondjupa region now has the second most clubs in the 16-team NPFL behind Khomas, with four representatives to seven.

The Warriors intend to become a topflight mainstay with the talent in their ranks and some new experienced recruits.

Current Brave Warriors target-man Elmo Kambindu, who plies his trade in the South African Premiership with Chippa United, is Okakarara Young Warriors’ most notable product.

Other alumni include Betja Maharero of African Stars, Omo Kavejama, Tutjavi Vasana and Richardo Boha.

“Our immediate plan now is to work on how we can survive and stay in the top league especially this first season,” said Kavita.

“Having big teams like Life Fighters and Mighty Gunners in our region is a positive boost for us newcomers. We will learn a lot from them and we expect them to take up a fatherly or mentorship role.”

INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT

Reaching the top tier division will catalyse development at the town given the opportunities that arise from hosting football matches at that level, he said.

“Our promotion will secure better money circulation in town,” said Kavita.

However, Okakarara’s dusty cramped and crumbling old stadium, with a capacity barely above 1 000, is crying out for a makeover if it is to host topflight matches.

“Infrastructural development has been neglected for far too long in our area and the whole Okakarara constituency. We hope our promotion will help us address that. Look at our home ground Okakarara community field owned by our town council, we still play on gravel and at lot is needed to be done to that field. You find primary schools in some towns owning proper grass turfs,” the senior club official said of the shortcomings at the town.

A supporters club was recently established to help generate funds for the club.

“We tried with our small resources and little assistance from guys like Elifas Shivute, a former Brave Warriors player and former trainee of Okakarara VTC, and others to bring the field to a playable state, and get reconnection of power supply, renovation of dressing rooms and toilets, as well as the erection of a protective fence between the players and supporters, which is still incomplete due to a lack of materials and funds,” Kavita said.

This weekend, the club will look to enhance their development drive with another positive showing when they conclude the league programme on home turf.

“We ask our supporters and sympathisers of the Orange Army to come paint the Okakarara Sport Stadium orange as we play our last two home games against Touch and Go from Otavi, and Golden Bees from Outjo,” Simataa said.