Bank Windhoek Ramblers u21 soccer tournament is back

Bank Windhoek on Tuesday announced a N$200 000 sponsorship for the Bank Windhoek Ramblers u21 Football Tournament which will be held for the third successive year at the end of this month. 

Bronwyn Moody of Bank Windhoek said they believe in inclusivity, the transformative value of sport and contributing to the development of skills and talent in the country. 

“At Bank Windhoek we believe in giving back to the communities in which we operate, and this tournament captured our imagination three years ago because this specific age group was not catered to in the sport, while there was no platform for players within this age group to develop their skills,” she said. 

“Namibians have an affinity with soccer and have always had a compelling following in Namibia. Last year we were excited to be a part of the initiative to expand this particular tournament to the north as well. This is the kind of initiative we appreciate and look forward to so that we can reach out and make a difference wherever the sport takes us,” she added.

The chairman of Ramblers Sport Club, Sedric van Turah said that the tournament will once again consist of two legs – a Windhoek tournament at the Ramblers field from 21 to 25 May in which eight teams will compete, and an Oshakati tournament at the Oshakati Independence Stadium from 21 to 23 June which will also feature eight teams.

Van Turah said that the top three teams at each tournament will receive sporting equipment as opposed to actual prize money, while he added that the tournament could pave the way for collaboration between football academies and premier league clubs.

“The exposure that these youngsters gain, and the opportunity for talent scouting by premier league teams in partcular, allows for the establishment of possible collaboration between academy and premier league teams,” he said. 

Van Turah thanked Bank Windhoek for the sponsorship, saying that they will look at the possibility of expanding the tournament to other towns or regions in future. 

Meanwhile, the draw for the Windhoek tournament was made at Tuesday’s launch, with the following teams drawn in two groups:

Ramblers, Athletic Club Football Academy (ACFA), Kaizen Football Academy (KFA) and Deutscher Turn und Sportverein (DTS) will compete on a round-robin basis in Group A, while Swallows, Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW), Kasaona Football Academy and new entrants, Riverheights Football Academy, will compete in Group B. 

The Windhoek tournament will start on 21 May with three group matches daily till 24 May, before the knockout stages take place on 25 May. The first semifinal takes place at 14h30, to be followed by the second semifinal at 15h45. 

The bronze medal playoff between the losing semifinalists takes place at 18h00, while the final is scheduled to start at 19h15.