Zebaldt Ngaruka
Retired footballers, also known as legends, will play in the Ma/Gaisa Live Music and Cultural event at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek tomorrow.
Other participating teams are African Stars, Black Africa, Orlando Pirates and Tigers football clubs.
Speaking to New Era Sports, Sendelly Gonteb, the operations manager for the Ma/Gaisa Festival, said the event is aimed at bringing communities together through cultural and sporting activities.
He said the clash of football legends will bring together Namibia’s former stars to lock horns as well as socialise with their old rivals.
“We expect to see the likes of Riaan Cloete, Enrico Afrikaner, Page Ananias, Rudi Louw, Bradley Wermann, Fox Nambundunga, Andrew Tjahikika, Jamu Ngatjizeko and Limbo Haragaeb in action, just to mention a few,” Gonteb said.
The event starts today with cultural performances from various primary schools in Windhoek.
Tomorrow, Orlando Pirates’ legends will clash with Tigers’ legends in the first encounter at the Sam Nujoma Stadium B field at 10h00.
This will be followed by a highly-profile match between Black Africa and African Stars at 11h30. The final match is expected at 16h00. Gonteb urged members, of the public to come in numbers, and support the event that is aimed at helping the community with its needs.
“The money generated from this festival will be used on identified community projects. A lot is happening, and we have to assist where we can,” he said.
The web tickets will cost N$60 at all Pick n Pay outlets, but N$80 at the gate.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the Black Africa supporters’ club Shaun Asprilla Gariseb expressed dissatisfaction with the BA legends’ team participating in the event.
He said those people who are going to parttake in games calling themselves BA legends should, be ashamed of themselves.
“This club is in ‘ICU’ under the tutelage of very difficult people who are not willing to work together with the supporters to revive the club,” he said.
He said not many BA legends are willing to protect the legacy of the club.
“The team was relegated from the first division, but for final weekend suspicious results, the current leadership is taking the team’s AGM to Khorixas, just because their chairperson lives there,” he said.
Gariseb also said the team played most of its games in Rehoboth because they wanted to do clandestine things.
“Apart from Pule Bostander, David Fella Snewe and a few others, we are yet to see legends or former players speaking out to save the club. This is not about taking sides, it’s about standing and protecting the history, culture and status of the club,” he said.
He further said when clubs die, it becomes difficult to speak about contributions of players.
“One day a clueless guy said Chula Chula was the biggest club in the history of Namibian football. Who do you want to correct that distortion?
Gariseb gave an example of clubs like Young Ones in Namibia, Moroka Swallows in South Africa, and Santos of Brazil, who immediately set a bounce-back plan after being relegated.
“A lot dies with these clubs. If we are not careful, we might lose BA forever. Are these legends going to use the opportunity to do what reminds people they played `
for BA by supporting the current leadership, or standing with the supporters? he asked. The spokesperson said the current leadership’s reign will end on 07 November 2024.
“They want to extend it again and now begging people from the regions to travel to Khorixas on 09 November for an elective congress from which they are excluding some people. Is it really fair to allow this to happen, as they are disregarding the club’s constitution?” he asked. – zngaruka@yahoo.com