SWAKOPMUND - The Debmarine Bridging Gap sports initiative returned after two years of hiatus and attracted 270 students from across the country in Swakopmund over the weekend. 

After two days of competition, Erongo emerged as champions of football after defeating Oshikoto 1-0 in the final. 

Speaking after the event, Erongo head coach Gideon Gariseb hailed the standard of the tournament and the impact it had in the space of two days and pleaded for more companies to come on board and host more tournaments of such nature. 

“The tournament was good thanks to Debmarine for the good work of putting up such a tournament. This helped our players in so many ways. We have not had football in two years. With this competition, more people are already trying to explore if they can take these players into their academies,” he said.

Meanwhile, Charleen Bock, who won the netball tournament with the Otjozondjupa region, was impressed with the amount of talent that she saw at the competition, saying there should be a way made for them to secure such talents.

“I am happy for my team and our victory. This means a lot for us as a region. I always believed that we have such talent and it was just a matter of giving players a platform to showcase their talent. I was also impressed with other regions, they had massive talent that needs to be looked after and we hope there will be a way to secure them in the future,” she added. 

Omusati region won the athletics competition.

The winning region in each category received sporting kits worth N$10 000, while winning players pocketed N$1 500 worth of sports shoes. The runners-up took home sports kits worth N$5 000 and N$750 worth of footwear. 

- mkambukwe@nepc.com.na