Local football finally starts 

Local football finally returns to Namibia with the Debmarine Namibia Premiership and the FNB Women’s Super Leagues kicking off this weekend.

The Debmarine Premiership was originally supposed to start on 21 September, but was delayed due to a protracted court case between the Namibia Football Association (NFA) and Namibia Correctional Service, who eventually lost their bid to be included in the premiership.

It was then set for 2 November, but was once again postponed due to negotiations to finalise sponsorship agreements.

Now, with the third attempt, the league is finally set to kick off with the third and final year of the Debmarine sponsorship, which amounts to N$18 million for the season.

African Stars, who have won the league for the past two years in a row, should once again start as the favouriters, but the other teams are catching up and they can expect stiff competition this season.

One of them is FC Ongos, who finished three points behind Stars in second place last season, and with a clear vision and strategy mapped out, they are determined to go a step further this season.

“The league is won by the team that accumulates the most points and not the team that beats African Stars. It doesn’t help if you beat Stars but lose two or three matches in a row after that, so we will take it one game at a time and focus on each match and try and accumulate the points that we need,” coach Mervin Mbakera said yesterday.

“FC Ongos has to become a household name, not just in Namibia, but also in Africa. We have to broaden our horizons and strive to take on the best. Our women’s team has participated in the Champions League but they have to improve on that stage and our men’s team must now also reach that level and the only way to do it is by winning the league,” he added.

Ongos will kick off the new league when they take on Tigers at the Independence Stadium tonight, and Mbakera said they are well prepared and eager to start their campaign.

“The long delay was a bit of a challenge, but we made the most of the additional time to make sure we are fully prepared. We are extremely grateful to our management who have supported us during the delays by paying the players’ salaries during these difficult times,” he said.

“The dedication shown by the players and technical team has been exemplary. We’ve had numerous preparation matches, and although there was a bit of a dip with the delay, the players are now rejuvenated and ready. Tigers are a strong opponent, but we have made sure that we are mentally, physically and tactically prepared,” Mbakera added.

Tigers, meanwhile, will be led by seasoned coach Woody Jacobs, who says it is great to be back in Namibia after a stint in Botswana.

“It’s going to be a tough encounter against Ongos – they have come on in leaps and bounds and it was no fluke that they came second last season. They have a good team with a good coach and Ricardo Mannetti as director, so they will be a force to be reckoned with,” he says.

“We, however, have a good, well-balanced squad of youth and experience, we are highly motivated and we want to start our campaign with a win,” Jacobs adds.

African Stars open their campaign against Young African at the Independence Stadium tomorrow, and their chairman, Salomo Heii, says they hope the league will turn fully professional soon.

“We are looking forward to the start of the league and hopefully next year we will have a professional league in place that is independent from the NFA, in line with aim of professionalising football in Namibia,” he says.

“We are happy to see there is also the new MTC Maris Cup – at least there is more to play for this season now,” he adds.

African Stars will also be in action in the FNB Women’s Super League for the first time after they acquired Ongwediva Queens and rebranded the team, but they have been hit with a transfer ban by Fifa due to outstanding payments to their former Ghanaian midfielder Michael Okolo.

Heii, however, says it hasn’t really affected them.

“Our transfers were completed long ago – the ban only came into effect on Tuesday, so it doesn’t really affect us. There are one or two players that we are still interested in but our legal team is working on the matter. It’s a new season, a new challenge and we are looking forward to defending our title,” he says.

There are several other enticing fixtures this weekend, including the highly-anticipated derby matches between Julinho Sporting and Cuca Tops at Rundu; Blue Waters and Blue Boys at Walvis Bay; and Eeshoke Chula Chula and KK Palaced at Grootfontein.