OSHANA governor Elia Irimari is disappointed that The Namibian Newspaper Cup will again not take place this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The annual under-20 football and netball event was due to take place at Oshakati from 26 to 29 August after the organisers deferred it from its traditional Easter slot last year and earlier this year for the same reason.
The organisers – The Namibian, Namibia Football Association and Standard Bank – said the prevailing health crisis would not allow for the safe hosting of the 20th edition of the tournament.
“The health and wellbeing of our athletes, in particular, and the Namibian society is very important to the Namibia Football Association (NFA), Netball Namibia (NN) and the competition partners,” the organisers said in a statement.
“After considering the current Covid-19 situation and the recent amendments to the regulations by the minister of health, it is with deep regret that we have cancelled the 2021 edition of the Namibian Newspaper Cup, powered by Standard Bank, which was scheduled to take place at Oshakati from 26 to 29 August 2021.
“We call upon athletes, and the entire nation, to continue to adhere to the health protocols and regulations put in place to contain the spread of the disease.”
Noting the danger the virus poses, Irimari said the Oshana region had looked forward to staging the event again.
The regional organising committee had already put in place all the basic amenities needed to cater for the players and visitors to the region.
“We are disappointed by the postponement, but we understand the dangers of hosting a tournament of such magnitude during the pandemic,” he said.
“We are in a crisis, which can easily wipe out people all at once if we are not adhering to the safety protocols and we need to comply fully with the regulations.
“We have to be patient until Covid-19 is under control and we can engage in public sporting activities again. The postponement is a huge disappointment to the region really because the tournament was going to socially and economically contribute to the region’s development,” he continued.
“However, we are not sad but we were really ready and looking forward to hosting the biggest soccer tournament in the country.”
Irimari said the region’s organising committee had finished preparations and both the Oshakati independence stadium and Embandu sports stadium were refurbished and ready to be used for the Newspaper Cup.
“We cannot risk the lives of our people and we fully accept the postponement of the tournament. We were in talks with our stakeholders and the NFA local leadership while putting the last touches to the preparations,” he said.
Irimari could not say how much the region had invested in the preparations, saying the figures can only be disclosed once everything had been put together and the tournament given the go ahead.
“We were ready to put up a spectacular show and no other region could do it the way we were going to do it,” he assured.
“However, we will always be ready at all times to host the Newspaper Cup at any given time and the more postponements, the more prepared we are to put up a spectacular show in the history of the newspaper cup,” said Irimari.
