More Than One Way to Skin a Cat

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By Engel Nawatiseb OTAVI The chairperson of the Otavi premier side, Touch & Go, said there are many ways to rejuvenate any ailing soccer team in the country. Josef Mokomelo told New Era that the suspension or dismissal of club coaches should not be regarded as the sole option to improve clubs. He said that his team, for example, has decided to contract a Zimbabwean coach to assist the incumbent coach and his technical team to beef up the technical part of the team. “Since his arrival … we are now on a winning spree unlike in the past when any team would hammer us like nobody’s business.” Touch & Go recently sailed through to the next round of the coveted MTC NFA Cup competition after beating Life Fighters 5-1, and also collected maxim points during an earlier league encounter against Windhoek’s Ramblers. The team also won 5- 4 against Marathon Sugar Chief Santos in a friendly played at the Oscar Norich stadium two weeks ago. Mokomelo stressed that the recent achievements of his team signal the return of his club’s glory days. ” Teams should come together and work on performance improving methodologies instead of fighting technical experts and putting the blame either on management or players because all branches need each other to survive challenges facing the team.” He told New Era that the newly recruited coach has been appointed through a “gentlemen’s” agreement to last for one month before a formal contract is signed. The Zimbabwean coach did duty for the relegated Friends Football club in Rehoboth but his permanent residence at Otavi can only be confirmed upon the finalization of the contract. Meanwhile, the secretary of the Otavi Village Council, Joshua Shilungu, told New Era that all scheduled league fixtures engaging Touch & Go would be played at the town. The condition of the stadium hosting home matches of Touch & Go was a serious cause of concern before the league season started this year. The stadium was not fit for official matches, prompting suggestions that the home matches of Touch & Go could be decided either in Tsumeb or neighboring Grootfontein. Shilungu noted that the stadium is currently accessible and meets the required standards of active football engagements. ” Council is in the process of upgrading the stadium, security arrangements are fully in place to protect officials, players and fans attending the matches from any form of intimidation.” Added Shilungu, “Touch & Go restored pride to the community by bringing soccer back home, therefore it is our collective responsibility to ensure that a conducive environment is created to allow them victory at all times. I encourage local business people to contribute to the upgrading of the stadium because many visitors would attend matches and invest capital in our businesses and town in general.”