Dark curtain falls on Black Africa

For the first time in domestic football, one of the biggest and most successful clubs - Black Africa (BA) - has been relegated.The defending champions were competing in the Debmarine Premiership and learnt their fate last weekend after Julinho drew 1-1 with Young African.It&#039;s a situation supporter Shaun Gariseb described as painful and very difficult to process.“There will be a huge void in the upcoming season as BA - established in 1985, and having been the most successful club over the years - has been relegated.”He said they have never had a season as bad as the one coming to an end this weekend.“Big teams with similar histories like BA don’t recover from relegation. Look at Desert Rollers. After being relegated, they never made it back to the top-flight league.“What is painful is the fact that people in the club&#039;s leadership, like BA executive member Lolo Goraseb, think that this situation is a joke. If I was in his shoes, I would call an urgent meeting to do introspection and to further apologise to the royal supporters of the club. He is supposed to respect the fans of the club. We are not blaming him for the club&#039;s relegation, but he is making a mockery of the club with the comments he is making on social media," Gariseb said.False informationAccording to him, Goraseb has used social media to incite fans and bring the game into disrepute by sharing false information.“He has been sharing information stating that there will be no promotion or relegation from the league this season and that BA did not sign any document agreeing to terms of relegation and promotion.“This despite the league administrators communicating that there will be relegation. Maybe he is doing this because he is embarrassed, but it’s wrong,” Gariseb said.He added that beyond Goraseb&#039;s "unacceptable conduct" and refusal to listen to advice in the past, he also chased certain players from the club - which he hasn&#039;t won favour with.“The first 11 was reshuffled every weekend. Players came and went because he had problems with them. In order for the whole machine to work, everything must operate well. Players can play, but they needed motivation. He didn’t offer that. You could see how they were crying when they were relegated. We are very angry and upset,” the fan said.He said it doesn’t mean football should stop because BA was relegated, but added that without the club, there won&#039;t be intense rivalry.Gariseb further mentioned that heads would be rolling at other big clubs if they were relegated.“People would be fired and an introspective indaba called."Goraseb, a former footballer himself, refused to comment on the matter.Terrible experienceAnother fan who has witnessed the success of the club over the years, Helmuth Hochobeb echoed Gariseb&#039;s sentiments, adding that the relegation has left a bad taste in fans&#039; mouths and is a terrible thing to experience.He, however, blames himself, the rest of the fans and the executive members for the club&#039;s demise.“Experience has taught us a harsh lesson. Before the league commenced, there was already infighting. We, however, decided to stand fast and go ahead and compete. Unfortunately, it got worse.“There were factors such as a lack of finance to run things. So, people can point fingers and throw stones at each other, but we all contributed to this,“ he said.Hochobeb added that those blaming Goraseb are outsiders, as the fans all stand with him.“We are on this ship together. Had we won the league, no one would have blamed him."According to him, the likes of well-known Chief Santos also went down the same path. "Even though they didn’t make it back to top-flight, BA will. We are a much bigger brand. We will be back, we just need to have faith in the brand,” he said.BA has one match to play against Gobabis outfit Young African on Saturday at 16:00 at Legare Stadium.They will then join the likes of Eleven Arrows and Citizens in the Southern Stream First Division next season.

Dark curtain falls on Black Africa

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-08

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Dark curtain falls on Black Africa

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-08

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