By Elezo Libanda
Katima Mulilo, Aug. 29 — Hundreds of people lined the road 20 kilometres west of Katima Mulilo to give a heroes’ welcome to The Namibian Newspaper Cup winners from the Zambezi Region.
The Zambezi beat Kavango East 2-1 to win the prestigious Namibian Newspaper Cup for the first time in the history of the competition.
The players and the technical team were showered with congratulatory messages and praises for achieving the feat.
Regional governor Lawrence Sampofu was also praised for making time to be with the team at Oshakati.
“We know that he has a busy schedule but he took time and be with us, that gave us morale because we could see him running around, encouraging us not to give up even when we were pressured by our opponents,” one of the players told NDN.
The team was escorted by a convoy of vehicles to the town of Katima Mulilo amid cheers and congratulatory messages from villagers along the road into the town.
Other sports lovers used the opportunity to launch a scathing attack on local businesses for not supporting sports activities in the region. A sports supporter identified as Moya said despite the support the businesses are getting from locals, they are not interested in supporting the community which is supporting them.
“This is bad and it must be condemned, they can’t just be there for the profits, we also expect a few players from the Zambezi and Kavango East regions to be called up to the national team as they have now proved that football talent is not only found in Khomas.
“if this doesn’t happen then we will conclude that the criteria to choose players for the national team is not based on capabilities but by regions or town,” Moya said.
The win brought an end to a great tournament that saw large crowds at both the football and netball matches.
