Geingob Cup treat for legends

The ninth Hage Geingob Cup will see Namibian and South African legends in an exhibition match in Windhoek next month.

The revered Theophilus ‘Doctor’ Khumalo, who attended the annual event’s launch in Windhoek yesterday, will lead the South African team, with the Namibian team largely made up of the fabled ‘Class of 98’ ensemble.

FNB Women’s Super League champions Tura Magic and first runners-up Gals and Goals will take part in the one-day festival, with MTC Hopsol Youth Soccer League matches filling up the rest of the programme.

While the organisers did not disclose the total value of the event, it is said to cost upwards of N$2 million as part of a collaboration between Namibia Breweries Limited, Bank Windhoek and MTC Namibia.

Ironically, the lavish exhibition match, which carries N$250 000 for the winner and N$100 000 for the loser, comes at a time when the country’s pre-eminent sport code is on its knees.

Poor funding for the men’s topflight means teams are forced to play two matches per weekend. The physical strain on the players, many of whom take home a paltry N$2 500 per month for their toil, dilutes the quality of football.

Just like the Namibia Football Association (NFA), some clubs fail to pay players for months, while just last week, the Namibia Premier Football League had to call off matches due to a lack of venues.

The situation is even worse in the lower divisions which have no sponsor, unlike the premier league which has Debmarine Namibia as the sole sponsor, albeit insufficient.

To compound matters, women’s football, where players overwhelmingly play for free, has only one division, the Women’s Super League and no feeder leagues.

More misery is that of national teams unable to host their home matches on home soil due to the government’s continued failure to construct international standard stadiums or upgrade the current substandard facilities.

A deafening silence persists over when the nation will see the N$140 million allocated towards sport infrastructure development put to into action.

Critics of the Hage Geingob Cup have long pointed out that the event represents conflicted, if not misaligned, priorities.

They feel the substantial resources poured into the festivities over the last decade should have been channelled towards pressing football concerns which will yield positive results for the domestic game in the long run.

Speaking on behalf of president Hage Geingob, the NFA’s patron, presidential spokesperson Alfredo Hengari, said the government cannot bear this burden on its own.

“It is crucial for the private sector, through initiatives that mirror this one, to play their part in contributing to the improvement of sports infrastructure. We must cultivate a sense of duty which compels us to invest in the talent that Namibia houses and give the Namibian youth a chance to realise their dreams,” Hengari said.

“Through the Hage Geingob Cup, we are demonstrating the power and transformational potential of partnership in advancing the well-being of the Namibian house.”

Hengari said Geingob has championed the fight for the sport industry. He highlighted Geingob’s penultimate state of the nation address in March as a case in point.

“President Geingob reiterated the importance of ensuring that supportive infrastructure, administration and services are in place as a way of creating an enabling and conducive environment for rising stars to train and eventually thrive on platforms beyond our borders,” Hengari said.

That conducive environment remains a pipe dream given the continued struggles of the country’s sport stars.

For instance, this weekend, the Young Gladiators face the Republic of Congo in Brazzaville in the first leg of their Under-20 Women’s World Cup qualifier. Namibia’s home match a few days later will be played in Brazzaville due to the stadium situation back home.