TSES – The chairperson of the Tses Village Council, Julian Christiaan, launched the 11th edition of the Tses Spring Sports Festival over the weekend.

The event, which was previously known as the Tses Spring Soccer Tournament, is scheduled to take place from 29 September to 1 October 2023 in Tses.

According to Thomas Tsuseb, the founder of the event, the tournament’s name was changed to accommodate the netball and volleyball sport codes.

About 36 football teams, 10 netball teams and seven volleyball teams from the Erongo, Hardap, Khomas and ||Kharas regions are expected to participate.

Tsuseb said the tourney is an opportunity for young people to showcase their talents and learn basic fundamental skills and sports culture.

“We want to develop rural football; we want to promote football in this region and assist young players to sign with teams playing in the leagues; however, over the years, these objectives have been hindered, as we do not get assistance from companies doing business in this region, so it’s my plea that they will come on board and assist us. As the organising committee, we are ready to host this event,” Tsuseb said.

Christiaan said the tournament is an excellent platform for young people in rural areas to showcase their talents and get exposure for scouting.

“Some players that play for first and second divisions teams came from this small village, and their talents were exposed through this tournament. The organising committee should continue with it so that more young people from here who are hopeless can be exposed too. The tourney also boosts the local economy, as it is the only big event that happens here, and small businesses and the community can make more money,” he said.

The festival, among others, is sponsored by Okawe Trading, First National Bank (Keetmanshoop branch), Chico Construction and Hennima Investments.

The winning netball team will walk away with N$5 000 and a trophy, the runner-up will pocket N$3 500 and the third-best team will receive N$1 500 and medals.

The football category winner will get N$25 000 and a trophy, the runner-up will receive N$14 000 and the semi-final losers will each receive N$5 500.

The volleyball category winner will get N$3 700 and a trophy, the runner-up will receive N$2 300, and the best third team will win N$1 000.

Football teams are set to register with N$2 200, while netball and volleyball teams must register for N$900 and N$650, respectively.

- Nampa