The MTC Hopsol Youth Soccer League finally came to an end on Saturday when the final age-group were concluded.
Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) came out on top when they defeated Athletic Club Football Academy (AFCA) in a heated final match that ended 2-1 at the Jan Möhr football field.
Captain and goalkeeper Andre Schaeffler of SKW felt they put up a stellar performance to win the title.
“We don’t need to play beautiful football in the final. In the end, you just need to win. This final means a lot to us because we lost in our other age groups in the U/19 and 15s. But I want to say thank you very much to our parents and fans for supporting the team,” he noted.
Munioncanda Karmunika, AFCA’scaptain, felt hard done by for the loss, but was pleased that the team made it to this year’s final.
“We were fighting for the badge today, but it was tough luck for us. Next year, we will try again. We are sorry for the disappointment today but we will come back next year.”
Losing coach Benedictus Hoased said their game plan was very easy from the start, but they lacked in the final third of the match.
“We were rushing, and fell into their trap and started playing long balls. But you could not see what we tried to implement. I would love to thank my players and the parents, and in the same breath congratulate the SKW team for giving us a run for our money because they came out guns blazing. They wanted it more today as you could see. I want to encourage my boys to keep their heads up and now focus on the books. Come next year we might get a different result,” he said.
Winning coach Enrico Tjiramba said the victory was for the rich history of the club because all of them were in all of the age groups’ finals. “We did this for the club, I’m a bit emotional now; this one is a special one.”
“Our plan today was to play it safe, and play the one-on-ones so we could get into the box. As you saw, the second goal was instructions from the coach. We had a special moment with our players, but I think we have the best support system from our parents, from the players who have given everything that we have asked of them.”
Elsewhere ACFA U/12 who have appeared four times in a row, lifted the 2024 trophy after a hard-fought 2-0 victory at the Jan Möhr football field.
ACFA coach Protash Kabwe was out of words, as he felt it was not an easy game as SKW always beat them in the different age groups. “Today, I told my boys if you believe, pray from the heart and we will win it. If you want to win something you will always fight because there is nothing for free. The only other thing I also want to say to SKW coaches is that they are doing a great job because we need to see more finals like this,” he said.
“You can see how the boys are playing the ball because that is what we want to see in youth football. I’m really proud of the U/12 coach of SKW. Today, we had to believe in ourselves, and sometimes as coaches, you see there was individual brilliance in the final, and we applaud the hard work put in by my players.”