Young Namibian footballers and those from neighbouring countries will showcase their talent at the much-anticipated DSFA International Youth Football Tournament scheduled for 2 to 4 October at the High Technical School sport grounds in Windhoek.
The upcoming event continues to build opportunities for youth development through football.
The tournament will feature young footballers from the under-7 to under-17 age groups.
This year’s tournament includes participation from Windhoek-based academies, three teams from other regions of Namibia, grassroots teams attending through the Botswana Football Association, and Aguila Stars from Zambia.
For DSFA, the international participation represents more than simply adding foreign teams to the tournament.
The academy deliberately wanted to create a diverse football environment in which young players can meet and compete against teams from different communities and footballing backgrounds.
The initiative follows DSFA’s continued engagement with youth football outside Namibia. Earlier this year, the academy travelled to Botswana for a second time to participate in the Dinaledi Youth Tournament in Oodi, Gaborone.
The experience helped strengthen relationships between DSFA and football stakeholders in Botswana, with those connections now contributing to the participation of Botswana grassroots teams in the Windhoek tournament.
DSFA believes opportunities such as these allow young players to gain experience beyond their normal local competitions while encouraging relationships between academies, coaches and football communities across borders.
The tournament will also provide teams from outside Windhoek an opportunity to test themselves against local academies, while Windhoek teams will face opposition they may not normally encounter during the domestic season.
Beyond the results on the field, DSFA says the tournament is intended to promote exposure, competition, cultural exchange and the continued development of young footballers.
The three-day event will bring together players, coaches, parents and football stakeholders for youth football across six age categories.
