Otjozondjupa aim to retain title

THE defending champions of The Namibian Newspaper Cup, Otjozondjupa, will be going to Walvis Bay with only one mission – to retain the cup they narrowly won against Hardap in Mariental last year.

Otjozondjupa became the new champions of the competition after beating Hardap 1-0 in the final at the Mariental Stadium, in the year which marked the fifth edition of the regional tournament. The head of delegation for Otjozondjupa, Paulus Iyambo, has warned the other 12 regions that their players are in good shape and are raring to go.”We will go there with one mission and that it is to win the cup for the second time in a row.A warning goes out to all the teams that Otjozondjupa are the champions and will play like champions in their efforts to win the cup again,” he said.Iyambo, who spoke in the absence of head coach Save Ochurub who could not be reached for comment, specifically warned the Khomas region to look out for them.”All the regions are our enemies on the field of play, but Khomas are our biggest rivals.In case we meet anywhere during the competition, they should take note that we will finish them off,” he said.The Otjozondjupa Region has been given a free entry into the quarter-finals of the competition due to their status as defending champions and will meet the winner between Hardap and Oshana, who will open the sixth edition of the event on Friday.Otjozondjupa have already played a friendly match against Eleven Brothers, whom they beat 3-2, and will face Mighty Gunners of the Northern Stream First Division today in another warm-up match.The business community of the Otjozondjupa region has promised the team a prize of N$150 000 if they retain the title, while other material such as computers and furniture have also been promised.Meanwhile, Oshana’s assistant coach, Kornelius Dominikus, says they will not give way to any team this time around, as no region from the far north has won the competition before.”We are ready at this stage and the two matches we have played so far have given us an idea of our strengths and weakness.We are going to have a final preparatory match against Oshakati City (today) before we go to the coast,” he said.Oshana drew 2-2 against Omusati, while they buried Ohangwena 1-0 in their two friendly matches.Hardap’s head coach, Ali Akan, says they want to win the cup in order to dedicate it to the Mariental flood victims.”We have prepared well and we are looking forward to causing upsets.We have several new players in the team, but we are confident that they can do the job,” he said.Akan was the only premiership coach at the competition last year, but has not coached a premier-league team since leaving Tigers about two months ago.The tournament generally features coaches from the first and second divisions, as most of the players in the teams are from the lower-division teams.The tournament is used as an opportunity for scouting players who could make their entry into the national teams, while clubs are also following the event with keen interest to sign up players immediately after it has been concluded.Civics administrative secretary Tim Isaacs yesterday confirmed that some of his officials will be in Walvis Bay to look out for talent.”Generally we have people at the tournament who are on the lookout for new emerging players who we can take up in our ranks,” he said.In the past, several coaches from the national teams also attended the event to inform the national selectors of any promising players spotted there.This year, officials from teams like Orlando Pirates, Ramblers, Blue Waters and Eleven Arrows have confirmed that they will be there to see for themselves.The tournament is held in a different town each year and was already held in Windhoek, Gobabis, Otjiwarongo, Oshakati and Mariental.Towns have to submit bids for hosting the event.The head of delegation for Otjozondjupa, Paulus Iyambo, has warned the other 12 regions that their players are in good shape and are raring to go.”We will go there with one mission and that it is to win the cup for the second time in a row.A warning goes out to all the teams that Otjozondjupa are the champions and will play like champions in their efforts to win the cup again,” he said.Iyambo, who spoke in the absence of head coach Save Ochurub who could not be reached for comment, specifically warned the Khomas region to look out for them.”All the regions are our enemies on the field of play, but Khomas are our biggest rivals.In case we meet anywhere during the competition, they should take note that we will finish them off,” he said.The Otjozondjupa Region has been given a free entry into the quarter-finals of the competition due to their status as defending champions and will meet the winner between Hardap and Oshana, who will open the sixth edition of the event on Friday.Otjozondjupa have already played a friendly match against Eleven Brothers, whom they beat 3-2, and will face Mighty Gunners of the Northern Stream First Division today in another warm-up match.The business community of the Otjozondjupa region has promised the team a prize of N$150 000 if they retain the title, while other material such as computers and furniture have also been promised.Meanwhile, Oshana’s assistant coach, Kornelius Dominikus, says they will not give way to any team this time around, as no region from the far north has won the competition before.”We are ready at this stage and the two matches we have played so far have given us an idea of our strengths and weakness.We are going to have a final preparatory match against Oshakati City (today) before we go to the coast,” he said.Oshana drew 2-2 against Omusati, while they buried Ohangwena 1-0 in their two friendly matches.Hardap’s head coach, Ali Akan, says they want to win the cup in order to dedicate it to the Mariental flood victims.”We have prepared well and we are looking forward to causing upsets.We have several new players in the team, but we are confident that they can do the job,” he said.Akan was the only premiership coach at the competition last year, but has not coached a premier-league team since leaving Tigers about two months ago.The tournament generally features coaches from the first and second divisions, as most of the players in the teams are from the lower-division teams.The tournament is used as an opportunity for scouting players who could make their entry into the national teams, while clubs are also following the event with keen interest to sign up players immediately after it has been concluded.Civics administrative secretary Tim Isaacs yesterday confirmed that some of his officials will be in Walvis Bay to look out for talent.”Generally we have people at the tournament who are on the lookout for new emerging players who we can take up in our ranks,” he said.In the past, several coaches from the national teams also attended the event to inform the national selectors of any promising players spotted there.This year, officials from teams like Orlando Pirates, Ramblers, Blue Waters and Eleven Arrows have confirmed that they will be there to see for themselves.The tournament is held in a different town each year and was already held in Windhoek, Gobabis, Otjiwarongo, Oshakati and Mariental.Towns have to submit bids for hosting the event.