An eventful fistball 2024 programme opens with a tournament at Swakopmund on Saturday.
The action inside the Swakopmund Fistball Club (SFC) grounds starts at 08h30.
The tournament will see 13 teams from three clubs doing battle and marks the start of preparations for the under-18 World Cup for men and women, which will take place in Chile in November, and the Women’s World Championship in Argentina shortly thereafter.
“The fistball association is aiming to send three teams to South America, but a final decision will be made at the end of February. On Friday evening, a special general meeting will be called at the SFC to adopt new game regulations and a constitution,” the Fistball Association Namibia (FAN) says in a statement.
This weekend, Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) is expected to have two teams in Category A for the first time since 2014. With the u18 World Cup in mind, the Green-Whites and SFC will compete in the top division in order to prepare accordingly.
In addition to Cohen FC (CFC), which is also fielding two teams, the hosts SFC have registered one team. The defending champions are CFC 1.
In the B category, six teams from the SKW, one from CFC and two from SFC will battle it out. The favourite for the coveted title is SFC 2. After 2022 and 2023, the third title in a row will be the aim for the team from the coast.
The B category is divided into two groups, with only the top two of each group advancing to the semi-finals.
“The matches are played according to time with two halves. Only the encounter for third place and the final of the respective categories are scheduled for a best out of five sets,” FAN says.
“A game between an extended women’s squad and the u18 women’s squad is scheduled to take place during the lunch break.”
National youth coaches Michael Baas, Stefan Grögli, Anke Baas and Andrea Grögli, plus women’s national coach Olaf Beiter, are set to call the extended squad for their first training camp on Sunday.
“In March, FAN will fly in three coaches from Austria who will offer training for the national squad over a total of five weeks in Windhoek and Swakopmund. An eight-day training camp is scheduled from 21 to 28 March in Windhoek,” the federation says.
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