Hansa Pilsener Cup launched at Gobabis

GOBABIS – The Namibia Football Association (NFA) on Tuesday launched the Hansa Pilsener Cup and drew the teams that will play in the tournament.

The cup is the NFA’s biggest annual competition, involving over 200 clubs with 600 players and 1 800 volunteers. The first round is scheduled to kick off on January 13 in all 13 regions.First- and second-division teams will participate in the tournament.The Namibia Football Consortium invested a total of N$500 000 in the competition, which will be played under the banner of the Hansa Pilsener beer brand of the Namibia Breweries Limited.The overall winner receives N$90 000, while the runners-up will receive N$40 000 The two semi-final losers in the first and second division will each receive N$20 000.An amount of N$7 000 is also allocated for the best team player, coach, top goal-scorer, goalkeeper, referee and assistant referee of the series.Tough Guys from the Omaheke Region are the defending champions.Acting NFA secretary general Barry Rukoro said a minimum of 180 matches would take place during the preliminary rounds, while 31 matches are expected to be played in the main competition.The semi-final and final are expected to take place at Mariental or Walvis Bay on April 21 and 22 next year.The NFA still has to decide on the venue.Rukoro encouraged the media to create awareness among the public and in that way attract more spectators to the stadiums to witness the action.Rukoro said the power of football and competitions such as the Hansa Pilsener Cup and The Namibian Newspaper Cup gave the NFA a unique opportunity to galvanise people into doing more than just watching football.NampaThe first round is scheduled to kick off on January 13 in all 13 regions.First- and second-division teams will participate in the tournament.The Namibia Football Consortium invested a total of N$500 000 in the competition, which will be played under the banner of the Hansa Pilsener beer brand of the Namibia Breweries Limited.The overall winner receives N$90 000, while the runners-up will receive N$40 000 The two semi-final losers in the first and second division will each receive N$20 000.An amount of N$7 000 is also allocated for the best team player, coach, top goal-scorer, goalkeeper, referee and assistant referee of the series.Tough Guys from the Omaheke Region are the defending champions.Acting NFA secretary general Barry Rukoro said a minimum of 180 matches would take place during the preliminary rounds, while 31 matches are expected to be played in the main competition.The semi-final and final are expected to take place at Mariental or Walvis Bay on April 21 and 22 next year.The NFA still has to decide on the venue.Rukoro encouraged the media to create awareness among the public and in that way attract more spectators to the stadiums to witness the action.Rukoro said the power of football and competitions such as the Hansa Pilsener Cup and The Namibian Newspaper Cup gave the NFA a unique opportunity to galvanise people into doing more than just watching football.Nampa