Oshakati-based football club Young Chiefs on Friday confirmed and subsequently announced the untimely passing of the club’s long serving captain Erick Natangwe Alweendo, who died in a horrific car crash between Tsumeb and Oshivelo on Friday morning.

“The management of Young Chiefs Football Club is hereby announcing the passing of our captain Erick Natangwe Alweendo in a horrific car accident. We, the management and entire Young Chiefs Football Club family are saddened by the untimely death of our captain, player, leader and true legend of the game. Rest in peace captain, our captain! Funeral arrangements and other logistics will be communicated in due course,” reads the club’s statement. 

The late Young Chiefs skipper is one of the three people who died in Friday’s fatal car accident on the Oshivelo-Tsumeb road, involving a Toyota Urban Cruiser SUV and Honda seven-seater. It was confirmed that the Toyota Urban Cruiser SUV, which was being delivered to its new owner, hit a kudu and collided with the oncoming seven-seater.

Alweendo played for Chiefs from 2009 and was instrumental in helping the Oshakati club gain promotion to the country’s top tier league, the Namibia Premier League (NPL). He remained captain until the club’s relegation during the 2018 season. 

- ohembapu@nepc.com.na