Matches were a success – Mathias
MTC’s Fikameni Mathias says the MTC NFA round of 32 was a great success and they expect more thrilling action in the next round.
LIMBA MUPETAMI
WINDHOEK
The MTC Namibia Football Association’s round of 32 matches were played all over the country: Windhoek, Tsumeb, Grootfontein and Mariental.
Sixteen teams, namely Mighty Gunners, Civics, Blue Waters (BW), Black Africa, Nossob, Citizens, Tura Magic, Young African (YB), Young Brazilians, Super 11, Tigers, Ohangwena NamPol, New Poison, Khuse, DTS Hopsol and Western Spurs, made it through to the next round.
“It was a success. This despite the fact that there were no spectators in the stadiums. We tried and will continue to use our digital platforms to bring the matches to the people.
“We also urge the fans to be patient and to adhere to the Covid-19 rules so as to contain the spread of the virus.
“Congratulations to the teams who made it through to the next round and we definitely look forward to the next round,” said Mathias.
Preparing for next level
YB’s head coach, Maleagi Ngarizemo, thanked the organising committee and said the atmosphere was great in Mariental.
“It was a completely different ball game from the league games, but we managed to get a result against the Cup favourites, Orlando Pirates, after their display in the league.
“We are happy that we proceeded to the next round and hope to do well again. We will be able to prepare when we have dates for the next round.
“For now, our focus will again turn back to the Namibia Premier Football League games as we also want to finish top of the bronze group.
“The team is getting better every game we play, so we hope we will be able to set up a good quality team.
“We have so far managed to have out the Zimbabwean players against Pirates and it helped us a lot and again we hope our Ivorian striker and Cameroonian midfielder will be ready for the next games,” Ngarizemo said.
The head coach of BW, Paulus Shipanga, said they had a very difficult match against Eleven Arrows.
“We were on the back foot. Arrows was running circles around us. First half wasn’t one of the best. The second half was better.
“We got a quick goal and when they got a red card it was even better for us; we scored the second goal which was the knock-out punch. We could have scored more but we are still not good at finishing.”
He added that the BW fans will see the transformation soon. “Everything takes time but once the whole train starts gelling, you will see a rejuvenated BW.”
Next on the card
The date of the draw for the round of 16 will be announced soon. The matches will be played on the weekend of 19 to 20 June at venues still to be confirmed.
The quarter-finals will be played on the weekend of 3 to 4 July, while the last four will clash on 17 and 18 July ahead of the grand finale on 31 July.
MTC has committed an amount of N$4.5 million for the next three years for this competition.
The winning team will walk away with N$500 000, followed by the runner up who will bag N$250 000, while third- and fourth-place finishers will receive N$150 000 and N$100 000 respectively.
WINDHOEK
The MTC Namibia Football Association’s round of 32 matches were played all over the country: Windhoek, Tsumeb, Grootfontein and Mariental.
Sixteen teams, namely Mighty Gunners, Civics, Blue Waters (BW), Black Africa, Nossob, Citizens, Tura Magic, Young African (YB), Young Brazilians, Super 11, Tigers, Ohangwena NamPol, New Poison, Khuse, DTS Hopsol and Western Spurs, made it through to the next round.
“It was a success. This despite the fact that there were no spectators in the stadiums. We tried and will continue to use our digital platforms to bring the matches to the people.
“We also urge the fans to be patient and to adhere to the Covid-19 rules so as to contain the spread of the virus.
“Congratulations to the teams who made it through to the next round and we definitely look forward to the next round,” said Mathias.
Preparing for next level
YB’s head coach, Maleagi Ngarizemo, thanked the organising committee and said the atmosphere was great in Mariental.
“It was a completely different ball game from the league games, but we managed to get a result against the Cup favourites, Orlando Pirates, after their display in the league.
“We are happy that we proceeded to the next round and hope to do well again. We will be able to prepare when we have dates for the next round.
“For now, our focus will again turn back to the Namibia Premier Football League games as we also want to finish top of the bronze group.
“The team is getting better every game we play, so we hope we will be able to set up a good quality team.
“We have so far managed to have out the Zimbabwean players against Pirates and it helped us a lot and again we hope our Ivorian striker and Cameroonian midfielder will be ready for the next games,” Ngarizemo said.
The head coach of BW, Paulus Shipanga, said they had a very difficult match against Eleven Arrows.
“We were on the back foot. Arrows was running circles around us. First half wasn’t one of the best. The second half was better.
“We got a quick goal and when they got a red card it was even better for us; we scored the second goal which was the knock-out punch. We could have scored more but we are still not good at finishing.”
He added that the BW fans will see the transformation soon. “Everything takes time but once the whole train starts gelling, you will see a rejuvenated BW.”
Next on the card
The date of the draw for the round of 16 will be announced soon. The matches will be played on the weekend of 19 to 20 June at venues still to be confirmed.
The quarter-finals will be played on the weekend of 3 to 4 July, while the last four will clash on 17 and 18 July ahead of the grand finale on 31 July.
MTC has committed an amount of N$4.5 million for the next three years for this competition.
The winning team will walk away with N$500 000, followed by the runner up who will bag N$250 000, while third- and fourth-place finishers will receive N$150 000 and N$100 000 respectively.
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