Youth sports back in action

Michelline Nawatises

A youth football tournament took place on Saturday at the DTS Sports Field in Olympia, Windhoek. The one-day tournament consisted of three teams, namely: River Heights Football Academy, Dama Soccer Academy and DTS. The River Heights Football Academy is a young academy situated at Goreangab, in the north-western suburbs of Windhoek.

One of the organisers of this event, Nixon Marcus, said the aim was to give the boys a run now that contact sports are allowed again and to get them fit for the league starting in September.

“Boys of the River Heights Football Academy come from previously disadvantaged backgrounds. We are trying to help them by providing free football to uplift them and give them a purpose as they are committed,” Marcus said.

These players are registered in the MTC league and are doing well so far, according to Marcus. He further emphasised giving talented children exposure at a young age.

“It is evident that if you give them attention to develop their talents, they can get somewhere,” he said.

The u/15 captain of River Heights Football Academy, Jason Kambonde, said he was happy to get a chance to play again to improve and sharpen their skills.

“When we played against DTS, we learned that as a team we need to improve with defending, but there’s no obstacle the team can’t overcome,” he said proudly.

The u/15 captain of Dama Soccer Academy, Lorenzo Mutanga, felt that the match they played against DTS was unfair. “The referee whistled more against our team, but that’s one of the perks of football but the team did its best against all odds,” he said.

The coach of the u/15 Dama Soccer Academy, Sila Shimakaleni, added that all teams played two games with the winner taking the cup as well as the player of the match award.

The River Heights Football Academy u/15 coach said he was proud of the progress made so far by the boys. “For most of the boys, it's their first time to play the MTC Hopsol League and I am already impressed with what I’m seeing, as in the beginning we lost awfully against DTS,” he said.

The DTS under-13 and -015 teams won the tournament. Petrus Kakwambi of River Heights won the two player of the match awards.

Results

Game 1

River Heights vs Dama Soccer Academy (3-1)

Game 2

DTS vs Dama Soccer Academy (1-3)

Game 3

DTS vs River Heights (8-1)

Game 4

DTS vs River Heights (2-1)

Game 5

DTS vs Dama Soccer Academy (4-1)

Game 6

Dama Soccer Academy vs River Heights (4-1)

PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED

1. Petrus Kakwambi (Katopi) of Riverheights Football Academy won two player of the match awards.

2. The DTS u/13 and u/15 team won the youth football tournament at the DTS grounds on Saturday.

PHOTOS 3 & 4: Desiree Gases

Photo Caption: The DTS and River Heights teams battling it out on the field.