N$900 000 set for NFA Cup

NAMIBIA Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) will tomorrow make its biggest single investment in a football cup competition when it announces a N$900 000 sponsorship for hosting the annual Namibia Football Association (NFA) Cup early next year.

The competition, formerly sponsored by Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) and formerly known as the Tafel Lager NFA Cup and later the Windhoek Lager NFA Cup, will now be called the MTC NFA Cup. The winning team in this competition stands to receive N$300 000 in cash and a glittering trophy, the biggest prize ever for a team in a local cup competition.The previous record stands at just over N$200 000, which was given as prize money by the NBL when it sponsored the Tafel Lager NFA Cup.The runners-up will take home N$100 000, while the two semi-final losers will win N$50 000 each.The draw of the competition will be conducted at Soccer House tomorrow and the matches are scheduled to kick off on the weekend of January 14 and 15 next year.MTC is part of a consortium of companies sponsoring Namibian football to the tune of N$40 million over five years after a historic agreement with the NFA in September this year.The cellular phone operator has a 50 per cent stake in the sponsorship deal, with NBL and First National Bank (FNB) putting in 25 per cent each.The cup launch tomorrow follows the successful hosting of the FNB Cup, which was won by Blue Waters at the weekend.The FNB Cup winners received N$160 000 for their feat as they downed African Stars 5-4 in a penalty shootout in a 1-1 stalemate after 120 minutes of play.Namibia Premier League (NPL) chief administrator Tovey //Hoebeb told The Namibian Sport yesterday that the aim of having the launch this early is to give teams enough time to get to know their opponents and prepare for the competition.MTC’s representative on the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC), Amos Shiyuka, said the cup will be “the biggest and the best” in terms of monetary value and he hopes for top-quality football.Sixteen NPL teams, four Nationwide First Division and 13 Regional Second Division clubs will vie for honoursThe winning team in this competition stands to receive N$300 000 in cash and a glittering trophy, the biggest prize ever for a team in a local cup competition.The previous record stands at just over N$200 000, which was given as prize money by the NBL when it sponsored the Tafel Lager NFA Cup.The runners-up will take home N$100 000, while the two semi-final losers will win N$50 000 each.The draw of the competition will be conducted at Soccer House tomorrow and the matches are scheduled to kick off on the weekend of January 14 and 15 next year.MTC is part of a consortium of companies sponsoring Namibian football to the tune of N$40 million over five years after a historic agreement with the NFA in September this year.The cellular phone operator has a 50 per cent stake in the sponsorship deal, with NBL and First National Bank (FNB) putting in 25 per cent each.The cup launch tomorrow follows the successful hosting of the FNB Cup, which was won by Blue Waters at the weekend.The FNB Cup winners received N$160 000 for their feat as they downed African Stars 5-4 in a penalty shootout in a 1-1 stalemate after 120 minutes of play.Namibia Premier League (NPL) chief administrator Tovey //Hoebeb told The Namibian Sport yesterday that the aim of having the launch this early is to give teams enough time to get to know their opponents and prepare for the competition.MTC’s representative on the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC), Amos Shiyuka, said the cup will be “the biggest and the best” in terms of monetary value and he hopes for top-quality football.Sixteen NPL teams, four Nationwide First Division and 13 Regional Second Division clubs will vie for honours