7Kings and Chile Futsal Club qualified for the African Mini-Football Champions League play-offs after an inaugural men’s tournament last weekend.
7Kings won the tournament after beating Chile on penalties in the final, with the teams having played to a goalless draw at the end of fulltime. In the shoot-out the pressure got to Chile, who missed two kicks while another was saved as 7Kings ran out 3-0 winners.
Eight teams competed in the inaugural tournament after the Minifootball Association of Namibia (MAN) was formed in June.
Edward David, the founder and inaugural president of MAN confirmed their participation on the continental stage.
“7Kings and Chile will now represent Namibia at the Africa Champions League playoffs in Cape Town in March 2026. I’m not sure of all the teams that will compete there but 7Kings and Chile are both very good and they can make it to the main group stage of the Africa Champions League,” he said.
“This is just the start for us after MAN was formed in June. I am the founder and president while Cheila Tyamba is in charge of women’s minifootball,” he said, adding that the fact that futsal teams dominated the tournament was not very surprising.
“Futsal and minifootball are very similar and the players will take any opportunity they see to play, whether its futsal or minifootball. There are a few differences like futsal is played indoor with only five players a side while minifootball is played indoors and outdoors with teams ranging from five to seven-a-side,” he said.
David said that women’s minifootball already held its first tournament in September in Namibia.
“We had a tournament with four teams competing which was won by Windhoek City. Players were also scouted for the national team that will compete in the Africa Cup in Morocco in March, so that process has already started,” he said.
David said that Namibia will stage an international competition in March next year to coincide with Namibia’s 36th anniversary.
“We have a big tournament coming up in March next year, the Global-7 International Cup where we have invited teams from South Africa, Ghana, Angola and Nigeria to come and play here.
“This international cup aligns with the celebration of Namibia’s 36th Independence anniversary and intends to honour nations that played a supportive role in Namibia’s struggle for independence. MAN is framing the tournament not only as a sporting contest, but as a symbolic celebration of friendship, solidarity, and shared history between Namibia and its guest nations,” he said.
David said they aim to start a league next year.
“We want to start a league in March or April and are aiming to have up to 16 participating teams. We however still need to secure venues, SKW is one option, but we are still looking for others,” he said.
“We can make it succeed but it also depends a lot on the leadership – we need a well organised and disciplined organisation with a vision and goal-setting leadership,” he added.
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