Nedbank Namibia sponsors N$150 000 for Desert Ice Challenge T20 League
Cricket
Nedbank Namibia, through its Beyond Banking Division, has extended its support of the Desert Ice Challenge T20 League by providing a N$150 000 sponsorship for this season.
This is the second year running that Nedbank Namibia will be sponsoring one of the country’s most prestigious cricket leagues through a partnership with Impact Cricket Namibia.
This partnership aims to develop young talent and grow the sport in the country.
The N$150 000 sponsorship from Nedbank Namibia, through the Avo SuperShop and Paytoday platforms, will provide the league with essential resources, which will enable the organisers to host exceptional cricket events during the tournament.
The director of Impact Cricket Namibia, Asad Abbas, said after realising the significant gap in the level of skills between Namibian players and other countries, they decided to come up with various strategies (one of them being the Desert Ice Challenge T20 League) that will allow players to improve their skills:
"While travelling to different countries, we observed that the high skill level in cricket is a result of having many players participating from various backgrounds, as well as the frequency of games and exposure they receive. For example, a player in South Africa will have played thousands of competitive cricket games against thousands of different players before making it to the national team, while a player in Namibia would have played a few hundred games against fewer than a hundred players."
This is where Impact Cricket came up with the idea of the Desert Ice Challenge T20 League, whose aim is to develop and support the expansion of cricket as a sport of choice nationwide.
Abbas said: "We have started a new trend for cricket in the country to enable the sport to be played continuously throughout the year, including players from across all leagues. This is one of the country’s most prestigious cricket tournaments, offering a platform for over 180 players from national, premier and junior divisions to compete in a professionally managed and competitive environment."
Cricket development in Namibia
He added that Nedbank Namibia’s renewed commitment to sponsor the 2025 edition of the Desert Ice Challenge T20 League, organised by Impact Cricket Namibia, carries significant weight for both the development of cricket in Namibia and the broader goals of community upliftment.
Abbas said Nedbank Namibia’s sponsorship of N$150 000 through its Avo SuperShop and Paytoday platforms, for the 2025 Desert Ice Challenge T20 League is not merely financial but is a strategic investment in grassroots sports development.
The money will be used for the planning and executing of the challenge through sourcing of fields, including payment of groundsmen, umpires, scorers, media crew, content creators, team branding, social media, digital media, print media coverage, live scores, livestreaming and prize money.
Meanwhile, Cricket Namibia’s Johan Muller said that as a federation, they are proud of the work being done by the organisers of the Desert Ice Challenge:
"The main benefits to cricket through this initiative are that cricket is now played at the senior level and at the recreational level and some of the juniors who integrate into this competition on an annual basis. There are no more domestic seasons -- it means that players can be involved in the game for the entire year, with different competitions. What is quite nice about this competition is that it’s breaking away slightly from the traditional club setup, as it allows corporates and partners to become involved in club cricket."
Muller added that the youth get the opportunity to play with some more senior players under their guidance, with some national players also participating in the competition:
"Another benefit is that this competition is not just Windhoek-based but also played in Tsumeb, Gobabis and at the coast, which means that cricket is taken throughout the country. Overall, this initiative has brought quite many benefits from a cricket perspective and even though it is not a Cricket Namibia tournament, it is great to see how it has grown over the last two years."
Commitment far beyond traditional banking
Nedbank Namibia's head of Beyond Banking Roean Kruger said by sponsoring the 2025 Impact Cricket, Nedbank Namibia is proud to be part of the positive trajectory journey of Namibian cricket:
"As money experts, our commitment to the communities we serve extends far beyond traditional banking. Our sponsorship of the 2025 Desert Ice Challenge T20 League is a clear demonstration of this ‘beyond banking’ philosophy. We are thrilled to once again partner and support this initiative. These programs do more than just teach the technicalities of the game, they are instrumental in instilling crucial life values such as teamwork and discipline, as well as the importance of a healthy, active lifestyle."
He added that Nedbank Namibia values the power of sport to shape lives and build a stronger nation, as evidenced by its long entrenchment in the development of cricket in Namibia through supporting initiatives that nurture talent from grassroots levels to competitive stages:
"This continued investment in Impact Cricket underscores our dedication to fostering its growth and ensuring more young Namibians can participate and excel. By investing in Impact Cricket, we are investing in the future leaders and well-rounded citizens of Namibia. We eagerly anticipate another year of exciting development and community engagement through this fantastic initiative."
This is the second year running that Nedbank Namibia will be sponsoring one of the country’s most prestigious cricket leagues through a partnership with Impact Cricket Namibia.
This partnership aims to develop young talent and grow the sport in the country.
The N$150 000 sponsorship from Nedbank Namibia, through the Avo SuperShop and Paytoday platforms, will provide the league with essential resources, which will enable the organisers to host exceptional cricket events during the tournament.
The director of Impact Cricket Namibia, Asad Abbas, said after realising the significant gap in the level of skills between Namibian players and other countries, they decided to come up with various strategies (one of them being the Desert Ice Challenge T20 League) that will allow players to improve their skills:
"While travelling to different countries, we observed that the high skill level in cricket is a result of having many players participating from various backgrounds, as well as the frequency of games and exposure they receive. For example, a player in South Africa will have played thousands of competitive cricket games against thousands of different players before making it to the national team, while a player in Namibia would have played a few hundred games against fewer than a hundred players."
This is where Impact Cricket came up with the idea of the Desert Ice Challenge T20 League, whose aim is to develop and support the expansion of cricket as a sport of choice nationwide.
Abbas said: "We have started a new trend for cricket in the country to enable the sport to be played continuously throughout the year, including players from across all leagues. This is one of the country’s most prestigious cricket tournaments, offering a platform for over 180 players from national, premier and junior divisions to compete in a professionally managed and competitive environment."
Cricket development in Namibia
He added that Nedbank Namibia’s renewed commitment to sponsor the 2025 edition of the Desert Ice Challenge T20 League, organised by Impact Cricket Namibia, carries significant weight for both the development of cricket in Namibia and the broader goals of community upliftment.
Abbas said Nedbank Namibia’s sponsorship of N$150 000 through its Avo SuperShop and Paytoday platforms, for the 2025 Desert Ice Challenge T20 League is not merely financial but is a strategic investment in grassroots sports development.
The money will be used for the planning and executing of the challenge through sourcing of fields, including payment of groundsmen, umpires, scorers, media crew, content creators, team branding, social media, digital media, print media coverage, live scores, livestreaming and prize money.
Meanwhile, Cricket Namibia’s Johan Muller said that as a federation, they are proud of the work being done by the organisers of the Desert Ice Challenge:
"The main benefits to cricket through this initiative are that cricket is now played at the senior level and at the recreational level and some of the juniors who integrate into this competition on an annual basis. There are no more domestic seasons -- it means that players can be involved in the game for the entire year, with different competitions. What is quite nice about this competition is that it’s breaking away slightly from the traditional club setup, as it allows corporates and partners to become involved in club cricket."
Muller added that the youth get the opportunity to play with some more senior players under their guidance, with some national players also participating in the competition:
"Another benefit is that this competition is not just Windhoek-based but also played in Tsumeb, Gobabis and at the coast, which means that cricket is taken throughout the country. Overall, this initiative has brought quite many benefits from a cricket perspective and even though it is not a Cricket Namibia tournament, it is great to see how it has grown over the last two years."
Commitment far beyond traditional banking
Nedbank Namibia's head of Beyond Banking Roean Kruger said by sponsoring the 2025 Impact Cricket, Nedbank Namibia is proud to be part of the positive trajectory journey of Namibian cricket:
"As money experts, our commitment to the communities we serve extends far beyond traditional banking. Our sponsorship of the 2025 Desert Ice Challenge T20 League is a clear demonstration of this ‘beyond banking’ philosophy. We are thrilled to once again partner and support this initiative. These programs do more than just teach the technicalities of the game, they are instrumental in instilling crucial life values such as teamwork and discipline, as well as the importance of a healthy, active lifestyle."
He added that Nedbank Namibia values the power of sport to shape lives and build a stronger nation, as evidenced by its long entrenchment in the development of cricket in Namibia through supporting initiatives that nurture talent from grassroots levels to competitive stages:
"This continued investment in Impact Cricket underscores our dedication to fostering its growth and ensuring more young Namibians can participate and excel. By investing in Impact Cricket, we are investing in the future leaders and well-rounded citizens of Namibia. We eagerly anticipate another year of exciting development and community engagement through this fantastic initiative."
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