When the Debmarine premiership champions, African Stars, announced their ambitious pre-season tournament, featuring league champions from Lesotho, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the announcement was met with excitement across Namibian football circles. 

Participating clubs include current Girabola champions and Angola’s most successful club, Atlético Petróleos de Luanda, DR Congo-based Club A.S Maniema Union and the reigning champions in the Lesotho Premier League, Lioli FC. 

However, one burning question amongst fans and pundits quickly surfaced: how could the Stars afford to stage such a tournament? 

With the calibre of visiting teams like Petro du Luanda, who were recently in Portugal for a few pre-season games, are the Katutura giants having the muscles to successfully stage the high-profile competition. 

Hosting top-tier clubs comes with heavy financial implications – from flying in the whole squad to covering accommodations, meals, transportation and security. 

That cost could quickly run down into millions of dollars. 

Considering the significant resources required to host such high-profile opponents, some supporters and analysts were curious about how the reigning Namibia Premier League champions planned to meet the costs. 

In a brief interview with New Era Sport recently, Solomo Hei, African Stars chairman, admitted that hosting such a tournament of that calibre is a costly exercise. 

While he could not directly break down the total budget needed for this specific tournament, he revealed that the expenses would not fall solely on the club’s shoulders. 

“The cost will be shared with the participating teams,” Hei said. 

“We also want corporate Namibia to come on board. There’s an opportunity for sponsors to associate with any of the visiting teams and gain exposure through branding on buses, at accommodation venues and in other activations,” he stated. 

When asked if they have reached out to the government to provide any form of assistance, Hei did not confirm any direct support. 

Instead, he doubled down on his call for the private sector to partner with the club in making the event possible. 

This is not the first time the eight-time Namibian league champions have staged such intensive preparations. 

Last year, they competed in similar challenging pre-season encounters against Botswana side Gaborone United and the now-defunct Betway Premiership side Supersport United. 

African Stars recently learned their anticipated opponent for this year’s CAF preliminary Round, slated for next month, against Uganda’s outfit Vipers Sport Club. 

– mkambukwe@nepc.com.na