Windhoek – Some pressure was eased off African Stars mentor, Robert Nauseb, and his charges ahead of tonight’s crucial Caf Champions League clash against visiting islanders, Volcan Club de Moroni, of the Comoros Islands.
The mega clash, which will be the second leg of their Confederation of African Football (Caf) preliminary qualifying round, is slated for the Sam Nujoma Stadium tonight at 19h00, and it will need to win to secure their chances of having a say in the next round of one of Africa’s premium football competitions.
Participating in the Caf Champions League comes with a whale-seized budget and boundless logistics, and that led to Stars call for corporate Namibia to come on board and assist the team to make a serious impact in the ongoing Champions League qualifiers as opposed to being just mere participants.
Heeding that clarion call, Namibia’s leading marine diamond mining company, Debmarine Namibia, yesterday came on board and threw its weight behind Stars efforts of conquering at continental level when they announced a sponsorship of N$100 000 towards the team’s participation in the Champions League.
Speaking yesterday, Debmarine Namibia’s Chief Financial Officer, Willy Mertens, said although the country is facing a financial crunch, they decided to heed Stars’ call for assistance because of the importance of the competition, as well as the importance of Namibia being represented at that level of continental football.
“Debmarine is already in football through the Debmarine Cup, and Stars are the current champions of that competition. Stars are representing Namibia, so we are assisting them. It is a pleasure for us to be involved in football, as we want Namibia to be represented in continental football. We are not doing this for the administrators, but for the players,” said Mertens, who added that, should Stars manage to qualify for the next round, the company will proceed to commit itself as the club’s official kit sponsor.
Stars’ Executive Director, Salomo Hei, expressed deep gratitude to Debmarine Namibia for positively responding to their plea on such short notice, saying the sponsorship will go a long way in helping the club cover the atrocious expenses that come with participating in a competition of such magnitude.
Also, Momentum Namibia will, this morning, be expected to officially announce its sponsorship to Stars, which also aimed at assisting the team with participation in the Champions League.