Lucrative NFA Cup final now on

IT’S official – the Tafel Lager NFA Cup final is to be decided at the Independence Stadium on June18.Cup kings Black Africa and Ramblers will contest the trophy, which comes with a cash prize of over N$100 000 for the winner.

Black Africa are the defending champions, but the Ramblers side has been in top form lately. In the battle for the third place, Outjo-based Golden Bees will put their best foot forward when they engage coastal giants Blue Waters in their match scheduled for 13h30.The final will start at 16h30.Ramblers have never won the NFA Cup before, compared to Black Africa who have bagged it three times already.Despite that, Ramblers have the personnel to upset the highly regarded BA side, which has become accustomed to winning all the major competitions in the country.Black Africa are now on course for their sixth consecutive cup title in a space of eleven months.With a poor run in the domestic league, both Ramblers and Black Africa are aiming to capture the trophy to have something to smile about before the season resumes in August.Black Africa ended in the sixth spot this season, garnering 43 points from their 30 matches, while Ramblers are fourth on the log, with one match to go.In fact, both Ramblers and Golden Bees will have good preparation for the final when they play their outstanding Namibia Premier League (NPL) match this weekend, June 11.A win for Ramblers in the league match will put them in third place, ahead of Tigers who, like Ramblers, have 58 points.The winner of the final gets a massive of N$127 380, while the second best team will be paid N$63 690 for their efforts.The third-placed team will walk away with N$25 476, with the runners-up going home with N$12 738.There will be a N$2 000 prize each for the top goal scorer, best goalkeeper, best player, most disciplined team, coach and match official of the tournament.The final of the competition, which was due at the end of last month, was put on hold after Black Africa used Ole Khiba in their match against Golden Bees after he had already turned out for Civics in the same competition.The issue has now been resolved after the NFA Organising Committee fined Black Africa N$5 000 for using Khiba, although it threw out an appeal by Golden Bees because it was submitted too late.Golden Bees initially alerted the NFA that Khiba had played illegally for Black Africa, but it submitted its protest too late.It then appealed against the dismissal of the protest, but the appeal, too, was submitted late.At the launch yesterday, NFA secretary-general Alpheus Gaweseb said the teams in the final should ensure that the match becomes one of the most memorable in the history of the competition.In the battle for the third place, Outjo-based Golden Bees will put their best foot forward when they engage coastal giants Blue Waters in their match scheduled for 13h30.The final will start at 16h30.Ramblers have never won the NFA Cup before, compared to Black Africa who have bagged it three times already.Despite that, Ramblers have the personnel to upset the highly regarded BA side, which has become accustomed to winning all the major competitions in the country.Black Africa are now on course for their sixth consecutive cup title in a space of eleven months.With a poor run in the domestic league, both Ramblers and Black Africa are aiming to capture the trophy to have something to smile about before the season resumes in August.Black Africa ended in the sixth spot this season, garnering 43 points from their 30 matches, while Ramblers are fourth on the log, with one match to go.In fact, both Ramblers and Golden Bees will have good preparation for the final when they play their outstanding Namibia Premier League (NPL) match this weekend, June 11.A win for Ramblers in the league match will put them in third place, ahead of Tigers who, like Ramblers, have 58 points.The winner of the final gets a massive of N$127 380, while the second best team will be paid N$63 690 for their efforts.The third-placed team will walk away with N$25 476, with the runners-up going home with N$12 738.There will be a N$2 000 prize each for the top goal scorer, best goalkeeper, best player, most disciplined team, coach and match official of the tournament.The final of the competition, which was due at the end of last month, was put on hold after Black Africa used Ole Khiba in their match against Golden Bees after he had already turned out for Civics in the same competition.The issue has now been resolved after the NFA Organising Committee fined Black Africa N$5 000 for using Khiba, although it threw out an appeal by Golden Bees because it was submitted too late.Golden Bees initially alerted the NFA that Khiba had played illegally for Black Africa, but it submitted its protest too late.It then appealed against the dismissal of the protest, but the appeal, too, was submitted late.At the launch yesterday, NFA secretary-general Alpheus Gaweseb said the teams in the final should ensure that the match becomes one of the most memorable in the history of the competition.