A new community football tournament offering N$50 000 in prize money will showcase the Erongo region’s young talent at Omaruru from 3 to 5 July.
Tournament organiser Jackson Kahambundu says the newly established Omaruru Open Tournament is a community-based event that will showcase the region’s young talent.
“Although this is the first edition of the tournament in Omaruru, the organisers bring valuable experience from successfully hosting football events at other towns, particularly at Walvis Bay.”
Kahambundu says prior to launching the tournament, the organisers successfully coordinated and hosted the ‘Valentine Open Tournament’ and the Easter Open Tournament at Walvis Bay.
“These tournaments attracted numerous teams, supporters, and local stakeholders, creating competitive sporting environments while promoting community engagement and youth development.”
“Through these events, the organisers gained practical experience in tournament planning, team management, sponsorship engagement, logistics, officiating, and event coordination.”
Kahambundu says building on the experience and lessons learned, the Omaruru Open Tournament will become an annual tournament going forward.
“We aim to promote football development – untested raw talent – and create an opportunity for local football club coaches to scout for talent in the region.
“The tournament will spearhead economical activities at Omaruru and surrounding towns. It is expected to attract teams from various parts of the country, providing players with an opportunity to showcase their talent in a well-organised and competitive event.”
The Omaruru Open tournament will have a grand N$ 50 000 set for the showdown with participating teams required to fork out N$ 2 000 for registration.
The winning team will walk away with a cool N$ 25 000. Runners up will pocket N$ 12 500 while the semi final losers will settle for N$ 6 250 respectively.
He says the successful hosting of the tournament will depend greatly on partnerships with sponsors, local businesses, community leaders, and sports stakeholders.
“Sponsorship contributions will assist in covering prize money, match officials, venue preparation, equipment, security, medical services, marketing, and other operational costs associated with hosting a quality sporting event,” stressed Kahambundu.
“The vision of the Omaruru Open Tournament is to create a sustainable football platform that develops local talent, encourages healthy competition, strengthens community relationships, and contributes to the growth of sport in Namibia.”
Kahambundu adds: “Through the support of sponsors and the wider community, the tournament aims to establish itself as one of the region’s premier annual football events.”
The chief tournament organiser calls on regional leaders and towns’ municipalities to rally behind the event.
“Tournaments such as these give hope to young people who are mostly confronted by social ills such as drugs and alcohol abuse. That is why we give them a platform to express their talent.”
