OMUTHIYA – The much-anticipated annual Di-Toa mega football bonanza, which was initially slated to hit Omuthiya this weekend, has been called off, citing a fixture congestion as a result of play-offs matches being hosted across the northern part.
This has prompted the chief organiser and founder of Di-Toa Trading Enterprises Usiel !Hoaseb, who is the sole sponsor, resolving to move the tournament to Grootfontein end of next month
In an interview with New Era Sport, !Hoaseb reaffirmed that the amount of N$50, 000 initially injected in the tourney remains intact despite the sudden change of venue.
The overall winning prize is set at N$20, 000, with the runners-up taking home a cool N$15, 000, whilst 3rd and 4th placed finishers will take home N$10, 000 and N$5,000 in that sequence.
“I was advised by the coordinator heading the northern division two that there are a lot of matches taking places around this time, especially in the north – hence it will not attract many teams as desired,” said !Hoaseb on the motive behind the sudden turn of events.
He further cited the ongoing Omuthiya Youth Fair as another drawback since residents would be divided, leading to a low turnout. In addition, he believes the signs already started showing due to slow pace of registration with so far only three teams having shown interest and paid their registration fees.
“For the teams that have already registered, I informed them and will refund them accordingly, while would be participants have been informed to hold back, at least for the time being.
“I was promised to be alerted of the appropriate time, but in the meantime while waiting, I’m planning to host the tourney at my home town Grootfontein, with the ultimate hope of attracting other teams from the central, coastal and even southern parts of the country.”
In his parting words, he assured that once fully informed about the right time, it remains his prerogative to decide whether to host the tourney in Omuthiya or Oshakati. Registration has been fixed at N$2,000 per entry.