BA, Birds send serious warning to title rivals … Young African a 9-day wonder?

Carlos Kambaekwa Windhoek All the uncertainties that bedeviled their preparations ahead of last weekend’s opening matches in the MTC Premiership were put aside as Katutura giants Black Africa swept their opponents aside in brutal fashion. The ‘Lively Lions’ followed up on their impressive performance on Saturday by dispatching league returnees Chief Santos (3-0) in empathic fashion. Elsewhere, Katutura glamour football club African Stars began their campaign like a house on fire, collecting maximum points from their league encounters against Orlando Pirates and league returnees Life Fighters, on the trot – scoring an amazing tally of eight goals while conceding just one in the process. MTC Premiership new boys Young African surprised friend and foe with a spotless record after the opening two rounds. The men from the Cattle Country defeated hosts Mighty Gunners 2-1 and followed up with another impressive display sending Young Chiefs packing 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller away from home. The visitors’ goals were courtesy of a double brace via the boots of Revered Matroos (2) and Chrispine Mbewe (2), while the hosts responded through Jackson Johannes, Eilo Shipalanga and Mikka Namweya. Another team that collected maximum points was coastal giants LHU Blue Waters, whose participation was also cast in doubt. The Birds made an impressive start to their league campaign, recording back-to-back victories away from home against Mighty Gunners (2-1) and Rundu Chiefs (1-0), in that sequence. Tura Magic, Unam and Civics are also unbeaten after two rounds of matches in the country’s topflight football league. The Civilians recorded two successive draws against Life Fighters and Orlando Pirates, while the Magicians sit on four points from the same number of games following their drawn match against Unam (2-2), complimented by their narrow 1-0 win over Citizens in Sunday’s action. NPL clubs receive monthly grants in advance Meanwhile, all 16 Namibia Premier League (NPL) clubs have received their monthly grants from sponsors MTC and FNB.In an interview with Nampa, league administrator Tovey ||Hoëbeb confirmed the payments yesterday, saying the two sponsors in collaboration with the league facilitated the release of the funds on Friday. “Some already got the funds while others will receive it today, depending on the bank they use. The clubs will receive N$260,000 for September, October, November and December,” ||Hoëbeb said. In January, the clubs will receive more funds that will enable them to complete the season. The clubs will each receive N$65,000 a month for the next 10 months, totalling N$650,000 for the 2017/18 season. Young African owner Maleagi Ngarizemo confirmed receipt of the funds, saying the money came at the right time as it will enable the clubs to focus on playing football. “We are now able to pay players and finance our travels to away games – it is a huge boost,” he said. He added that they have used some of the money to pay signing-on fees to the players. Peter Nakurua of Tura Magic echoed Ngarizemo’s sentiments, saying they are excited. Tim Ekandjo, the chief human capital and corporate affairs officer at MTC, yesterday confirmed that the payments for the months had been made to all the clubs. The NPL kicked off this past weekend following an absence of 16 months because of a lack of sponsorship. – Additional info: Nampa ••••• Caption: Dacosta jpg –
2017-10-24 10:18:51 11 months ago