Zebaldt Ngaruka 

GOBABIS – The third edition of the Gobabis Mayoral Cup will kick off tomorrow at the Legare Sports Stadium in Gobabis. The tournament comprises football, netball and volleyball, and is aimed at generating funds for vulnerable communities in the town as well as assisting the municipality during emergencies. 

One of the organising committee members, Veendapi McDonald Tjiundje, said the municipality put aside an amount of N$66 000 to be distributed among the three sports codes. “In addition to trophies and medals, we have allocated N$40 000 to the football competition, while netball teams will vie for N$18 000, and N$6 000 is earmarked for volleyball,” he noted.

The organiser said the volleyball code was added for the first time to the competition.

“We will add a new sport code every year to the event, and we would like to include all sport fanatics in the event and develop sport within Gobabis,” he enthused.

Tjiundje said about 36 football teams showed interest, whereas 15 netball and eight volleyball teams booked their places in the competition. 

Besides the trophy, the winner in the football category will pocket N$20 000, whereas the runners-up will take home N$12 000. The team which takes third place will bag N$8 000. In the netball competition, the final winner will take home N$10 000. The second-placed team will pocket N$5 000, while N$3 000 will be paid to the third-place holder. The volleyball champion will take home N$3 500, whereas an amount of N$1 500 will be given to the runners-up, and N$1 000 to the third-placed team. 

“We will have a competition draw today, and it will be played on the knock-out format,” said the organiser.

Tjiundje added that the football competition will kick off at 07h00, with netball and volleyball expected to start at 10h00. “We will only allow three Premier League players per team in football, while netball can use only two players from the top netball league,” he emphasised. Leonardville-based team Kom Haal Hulle FC won the second edition of the competition in 2023, while Red Fire from Epukiro won the netball series. 

The competition failed to feature last year due to the lack of a sport field in Gobabis, as Legare Sports Stadium was under recovery. 

“That is the only reason, as the stadium was overused, and recovery was needed. It is the only big sport facility we have in Gobabis,” he continued.

Adults will be charged N$20 at the entrance gate, while children and cars will fork out N$10 to enter the stadium. -zngaruka@yahoo.com