SPORT - FOOTBALL
| 2013-08-08Stars face Pirates in opener
Helge Schutz
THE 2013/14 Namibia Premier League is expected to kick off with a bang when traditional rivals African Stars and Orlando Pirates will meet in the first round of the competition, which has provisionally been set for 21 September.
The ‘skeleton draw’ for the new season was made at the NFA Soccer House in Katutura yesterday but the kick off date for the new season still has to be confirmed.
According to NPL management committee member Tim Isaacs they decided to make the draw public to promote transparency.
“We decided to make the fixtures public in terms of openness and fairness and to avoid any changes in the fixtures. The dates are however still subject to change and will only be made public once we finalise outstanding issues such as the availability of fields,” he said.
The league administrator of the NPL, Tovey Hoebeb, also confirmed that the fixtures would not be changed although the dates were still subject to change.
“We will give the draw to the clubs for final approval, before announcing the final fixtures,” Hoebeb said.
The final dates for the new season will be finalised at the NPL annual general assembly on Saturday, August 17.
For now, the new season has been set to start on the weekend of September 21, and will be preceded by the NPL League Cup, which is due to start on the weekend of August 23 to 25.
Three weekends have been allocated for the NPL League Cup, with the final provisionally set for Sunday, September 15.
The Namibia Premier League will then start the following weekend, which will see several other interesting encounters in the first round.
Defending champions Black Africa will host Rundu Chiefs, Eleven Arrows will host Civics, Ramblers will host Blue Waters, Tigers will host United Stars and Blue Boys will host Tura Magic.
Meanwhile, Isaacs said that they were close to signing a new contract with the league’s longtime sponsor MTC. Their three-year contract came to an end last season, but Isaacs said they were confident of renewing it.
“We are currently busy negotiating with MTC and there are positive signs that they will continue. However, the league will kick off either with MTC or with any other sponsor. The fact of the matter is that the league will kick off,” he said.
“The process is ongoing and we are now in the final stages of negotiations. At no stage did MTC say they will not continue with this relationship, so we are positive of signing a new contract,” he added.
The Southern Stream First Division will also hold a consultative meeting at the Sam Nujoma Stadium boardroom on Saturday, August 10, starting at 09h00. Southern Stream First Division clubs are urged to send two representatives to the meeting, consisting of the chairman and the person responsible for the registration of players.
The ‘skeleton draw’ for the new season was made at the NFA Soccer House in Katutura yesterday but the kick off date for the new season still has to be confirmed.
According to NPL management committee member Tim Isaacs they decided to make the draw public to promote transparency.
“We decided to make the fixtures public in terms of openness and fairness and to avoid any changes in the fixtures. The dates are however still subject to change and will only be made public once we finalise outstanding issues such as the availability of fields,” he said.
The league administrator of the NPL, Tovey Hoebeb, also confirmed that the fixtures would not be changed although the dates were still subject to change.
“We will give the draw to the clubs for final approval, before announcing the final fixtures,” Hoebeb said.
The final dates for the new season will be finalised at the NPL annual general assembly on Saturday, August 17.
For now, the new season has been set to start on the weekend of September 21, and will be preceded by the NPL League Cup, which is due to start on the weekend of August 23 to 25.
Three weekends have been allocated for the NPL League Cup, with the final provisionally set for Sunday, September 15.
The Namibia Premier League will then start the following weekend, which will see several other interesting encounters in the first round.
Defending champions Black Africa will host Rundu Chiefs, Eleven Arrows will host Civics, Ramblers will host Blue Waters, Tigers will host United Stars and Blue Boys will host Tura Magic.
Meanwhile, Isaacs said that they were close to signing a new contract with the league’s longtime sponsor MTC. Their three-year contract came to an end last season, but Isaacs said they were confident of renewing it.
“We are currently busy negotiating with MTC and there are positive signs that they will continue. However, the league will kick off either with MTC or with any other sponsor. The fact of the matter is that the league will kick off,” he said.
“The process is ongoing and we are now in the final stages of negotiations. At no stage did MTC say they will not continue with this relationship, so we are positive of signing a new contract,” he added.
The Southern Stream First Division will also hold a consultative meeting at the Sam Nujoma Stadium boardroom on Saturday, August 10, starting at 09h00. Southern Stream First Division clubs are urged to send two representatives to the meeting, consisting of the chairman and the person responsible for the registration of players.
