Cloete for Rammies

THE Namibia Premier League transfer season closed yesterday, with no major movements among the clubs, except former Orlando Pirates midfield maestro Riaan Cloete who has joined Ramblers.

Cloete, who was the captain of the side under the tutelage of former coach Brian Isaacs, left the Buccaneers about a week ago and has been training with Ramblers. Cloete, also an under-23 national player, left after the arrival of Ali Akan, but the club dismissed rumours that Cloete moved because Akan took over the reins.Cloete was one of the long-serving members of Pirates and played with the Katutura-based side for at least ten seasons.His team-mate Gregory Horaeb has also left Pirates to join Ramblers in a move that will boost the efforts of the Pionierspark-based side to capture the league title.Yesterday, NPL administrator Tovey Hoebeb told The Namibian Sport that there were no major moves from most of the top clubs in the league, but there were still a few players who were registering by late yesterday.He cautioned that clubs should in future refrain from flooding the offices of the league on the last day of the transfer period.He said the teams had enough time to register their new players but they still resorted to last-minute registrations, and this was not acceptable.Another prominent move saw Milton Nauseb moving from relegated side Life Fighters to Orlando Pirates.Nauseb is the younger brother of Robert Nauseb, who plays professional football for Santos in South Africa.The young Nauseb is also one of the stars who featured at the 2003 The Namibian Newspaper Cup in Gobabis for the Kavango Region.The young Nauseb is a dynamic midfielder who can also be used as a striker and can ably fill the gap left by Cloete.In another move, Oshakati City have released midfielder Chepela Chepela to Orlando Pirates.Chepela played for Touch & Go before he joined City late last year.Meanwhile, the domestic premiership swings back into action this weekend, with the first matches scheduled for Friday at the SKW Stadium.African Stars will take on Orlando Pirates in a crucial encounter for both teams, while Black Africa will have to up their form when they meet a tricky SKW side on the same night.Defending champions Civics will have difficult assignments at the weekend, after returning from their CAF Champions League first-leg encounter against Pedro de Luanda.They will face Tigers on Saturday before being required to deal with a tough, table-topping Ramblers team the following day.Cloete, also an under-23 national player, left after the arrival of Ali Akan, but the club dismissed rumours that Cloete moved because Akan took over the reins.Cloete was one of the long-serving members of Pirates and played with the Katutura-based side for at least ten seasons.His team-mate Gregory Horaeb has also left Pirates to join Ramblers in a move that will boost the efforts of the Pionierspark-based side to capture the league title.Yesterday, NPL administrator Tovey Hoebeb told The Namibian Sport that there were no major moves from most of the top clubs in the league, but there were still a few players who were registering by late yesterday.He cautioned that clubs should in future refrain from flooding the offices of the league on the last day of the transfer period.He said the teams had enough time to register their new players but they still resorted to last-minute registrations, and this was not acceptable.Another prominent move saw Milton Nauseb moving from relegated side Life Fighters to Orlando Pirates.Nauseb is the younger brother of Robert Nauseb, who plays professional football for Santos in South Africa.The young Nauseb is also one of the stars who featured at the 2003 The Namibian Newspaper Cup in Gobabis for the Kavango Region.The young Nauseb is a dynamic midfielder who can also be used as a striker and can ably fill the gap left by Cloete.In another move, Oshakati City have released midfielder Chepela Chepela to Orlando Pirates.Chepela played for Touch & Go before he joined City late last year.Meanwhile, the domestic premiership swings back into action this weekend, with the first matches scheduled for Friday at the SKW Stadium.African Stars will take on Orlando Pirates in a crucial encounter for both teams, while Black Africa will have to up their form when they meet a tricky SKW side on the same night.Defending champions Civics will have difficult assignments at the weekend, after returning from their CAF Champions League first-leg encounter against Pedro de Luanda.They will face Tigers on Saturday before being required to deal with a tough, table-topping Ramblers team the following day.