DEUTSCHER Turn und Sportverein (DTS) Windhoek and Hopsol have combined forces to shake up the Southern Stream First Division this season.
Initially, the youthful DTS-Hopsol FC will look to ruffle feathers in the MTC NFA Cup where they hope to advance beyond the preliminary phase this weekend to set up a showdown with the top Namibian football clubs.
DTS chairperson Axel Dainat says his club’s professional structures coupled with support from Standard Bank and HopSol Solar Power are determined to make this thrilling adventure a success story.
Ex-Brave Warriors midfield enforcer Oliver Risser adds experience from playing abroad to the mix as player/coach with Gunnar von Dewitz as team manager.
“Our youth football academy from under-6 to u17 is nowadays one of the most professional and successful youth football development programmes in the country. It is just a logical consequence for us to give our upcoming very talented youth football players the perspective to perform on highest levels in the first division team DTS-Hopsol,” Dainat said.
“Team DTS-Hopsol is equipped with everything that is needed to play at top Namibian football level. We just hope normality returns to Namibian adult football and we can play our beloved game. We are looking forward to the league starting still this year,” he noted.
Robert Hopperdietzel, founder and mentor of MTC HopSol Youth Soccer League, explains why HopSol became a key sponsor at DTS.
“As a very successful solar company we have extensive experience in professional management and we know how to seize opportunities and how to sustain prosperity. HopSol wants to be a role model for professional structures from grassroots to adult football,” said Hopperdietzel.
“Namibia is mega rich in football talent, but is lacking professional organization for developing this talent,” he continued.
“HopSol provides now with the MTC HopSol Youth Soccer League and the DTS-Hopsol first division team the chance for future professionals to take off even on international levels. DTS is one of the first clubs in Namibia which is setup to achieve this goal.”
On Saturday, DTS-Hopsol beat Namibia Premier Football League outfit Orlando Pirates 2-1 in a pre-season encounter on their home patch in Olympia. Two weeks earlier, they beat another top tier side in Tigers Sports Club 3-2 in another warm-up.
The thrilling matches showed that they intend to be highly competitive.
“A big thank you also goes to our co-sponsor, Standard Bank. Their trust to support this initiative especially in times like this is an unbelievable catalyst which does encourage our initiative,” said Hopperdietzel.
