The MTC Hopsol Youth League is once again in full swing as teams battle it out for a place in the knockout stages of the competition.
The football youth league has steadily grown since being launched by Hopsol in 2017, while Mobile Telecommunications Limited came on board as a sponsor three years later.
Now in its 10th year, the number of players has grown from about 800 to more than 2 300, while more than 120 teams from 26 clubs are competing in various age groups from under-nine through to under-19 level.
The league administrator Cynthia Balzar says they have managed to keep it going through sound administration and co-operation.
“We are celebrating our 10th anniversary this year so we are quite proud of that achievement. Logistically its quite a challenge but we have continued through thick and thin, while we have always managed to solve our problems through good communication,” she says.
“We are constantly playing every Thursday, Friday and Saturday on five fields around Windhoek and this week we already started with matches on Monday because the school holidays are coming up and we are trying to finish off our under-17 and under-19 leagues so that we can go into the play-offs.Foot
“The school holidays are always a problem because some teams don’t want to come or some have hostel children who are then absent, so we are pushing it now to complete it in time,” she adds.
With the knockout stages due to start soon, teams are now battling it out to reach the knockout stages.
The top four teams in each group in the under-nine, under-11, under-12, under-13 and under-15 leagues will progress to the knockout stages, while the top eight in the under-17 league will progress and the top six in the under-19 league.
In the under-19 league, the top six in groups A and B will each progress to the knockout stages.
Under-19 defending champions Collin Benjamin Soccer Talents are once again well placed and comfortably lead group A.
They have only lost one match all season and currently lead the log on 29 points from 12 matches.
Kasaona Football Academy are second on 22 points, while Riverheights Football Academy are third on 20 points. They are followed by Julinho Athletic Football Academy (19), DTS (18), Baller Boys (13), City Pillars FA (10) and Otjomuise Rising Stars (three).
Windhoek Gymnasium lead group B on 28 points, followed by Ramblers (26), Swallows (20), SKW (17), Prolific (10), St Paul’s College (nine) and Brave SC (six).
