Stars Crowned Champions [Namibian] African Stars were crowned Debmarine Namibia Premiership champions for the third year in a row after an entertaining 3-3 draw against Young African on Saturday.

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Stars crowned champions  African Stars were crowned Debmarine Namibia Premiership champions for the third year in a row after an entertaining 3-3 draw against Young African on Saturday. It was Stars’ third league title in a row which earned them the winning prize of N$850 000, while they also made a clean sweep of the individual prizes with defender Charles Hambira winning the player of the season award, midfielder Mbakondja Tjahikika the goalscorer of the season award, and goalie Mervin Kasetura the goalkeeper of the year award. Young African received N$420 000 as the runners-up, third-placed Khomas Nampol received N$320 000, fourth-placed FC Ongos received N$230 000, and fifth-placed Mighty Gunners received N$180 000. Teams down to 10th place received financial rewards, while Debmarine’s total prize money amounted to N$2.6 million. Saturday’s match between Stars and Young African was immaterial as Stars had already won the league, but both teams provided a fine spectacle for the die-hard fans who had braved the cold weather. After some early attacks with Eliakim Jackson, Nkwuda Obinna and Denzil Narib all coming close, Narib opened Young African’s account after 15 minutes with a cracking shot from the edge of the box. Barely three minutes later it was 1-1 after a backheel deflection by Rikambura Muundjua caught Young African keeper Moses Makhae wrong-footed, but Young African regained the lead just before half-time when Dynsel Awaseb hit the post from a corner and Narib followed up to slam the rebound into the net. Stars once again drew level seven minutes after the break when the ball went loose from a corner and Deon Tjizumuaje tapped it in at the far post, and they took the lead for the first time when Given Mutuezu slipped in behind Young African’s defence to head in a free kick. Young African, however, struck back through a long-range shot by Romin Berndt to equalise at 3-3, and despite more chances at both ends, the teams held on for a deserved draw. The result saw Stars completing their 30-match campaign with 58 points, after 16 wins, 10 draws, and only four defeats, while they scored 47 goals and conceded 25. Young African finished second, four points behind, while Khomas Nampol came third on 51 points. The bottom three clubs, Cuca Tops, Blue Boys, and Young Brazilians have been relegated, while Blue Birds gained promotion from the Southern Stream First Division to the Debmarine Premiership after drawing their final match 0-0 against crosstown rivals Eleven Arrows. Blue Birds topped the log with 41 points from 20 matches, followed by Eleven Arrows on 40, Try Again (34), Dates and Friends (33 each), Mariental (30), Ramblers (25), Orlando Pirates (22) and Oranjemund (17). Former glamour club Black Africa, however, did not escape the axe, despite beating Ramblers 2-1 in their final match on Saturday to finish second last on 17 points. They will now be relegated to the second division along with Latinos, who finished last on 13 points. The post Stars crowned champions  appeared first on The Namibian.

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Three in a row for Stars  African Stars completed another imperious season by winning the Debmarine Namibia Premiership on Sunday.  Their 1-1 draw against Mighty Gunners in Otjiwarongo put them four points clear at the top of the log and although there is still one round of matches remaining, Stars cannot be caught anymore. It was their third successive victory in the Debmarine Namibia Premiership while they have now also won ‘The Double’ along with the NFA Cup for the past two seasons and chairman Salomo Hei said it was an exceptional achievement.  “It’s a very humbling experience because it’s very difficult to win the league, and to do it three times in a row is an extremely strenuous exercise. We are the only country in the world where we still play double-headers, and it shows the physical extremes our players had to endure. To win it three times over such a difficult schedule tells us what a big achievement it is for African Stars and what a special breed of players we have,” he said.  “It’s really a great success, and we will only understand this achievement better in the fullness of time,” he added. Hei also congratulated their Lesotho coach Bob Mafoso, who took over the hot seat midway through the season after the departure of Ronnie Kanalelo and an interim tenure by assistant coach Benni Haoseb. “We really have to give the coach credit and applause. He came here during mid-season from another country to a new league. He had to adapt to Namibian football; he didn’t have any friendly matches and had to start immediately in a difficult league,” he said. “But he also knew there was no window for failure; he found a team at the top of the log and had to sustain that. But he has done very well and taken African Stars a notch up now,” he added. Hei said Stars will once again compete in the African Champions League. “This is our dream – to get to the group stages of the Champions League. We lost out on an away goal last year, and this year we lost out on penalties, so hopefully, it will be third time lucky,” he said. “We hope we can use our local stadiums soon for matches, especially the rugby stadium. If it could be used for the Cosafa u17 Girls Championship, why can’t we use it for our upcoming African preliminary games?” he asked. “We don’t get government support, but we are doing this for the whole of Namibia, so I would like to appeal to sponsors to come on board,” he added. While Stars have now won the league, the bottom three relegated teams have also been determined as Young Brazilians and Blue Boys join Cuca Tops in the drop zone. With one round of matches to go, Young African have also secured second place, but the battle for the rest is still wide open with five teams separated by four points. Here are the complete weekend’s results: Sunday, 1 June: Blue Boys 2-2 Julinho Athletic, Blue Waters 5-1 Cuca Tops, Tigers 0-2 Unam, KK Palace 1-1 Khomas Nampol, E Chula Chula 2-2 Young Brazilians, Mighty Gunners 1-1 African Stars, Okahandja United 0-2 Young African, FC Ongos 2-0 Bucks Buccaneers. Saturday, 31 May: FC Ongos 2-0 Unam, KK Palace 2-2 Young Brazilians, Blue Boys 1-0 Cuca Tops, E Chula Chula 1-1 Khomas Nampol, Mighty Gunners 2-2 Young African, Okahandja United 0-1 African Stars, Blue Waters 1-0 Julinho Athletic, Tigers 2-2 Bucks Buccaneers. The post Three in a row for Stars  appeared first on The Namibian.

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African Stars have league title in sight  Six points from their remaining three matches are all that stand between African Stars and a third consecutive Debmarine Namibia Premiership crown. The champions secured maximum points over the weekend to build up a four-point buffer over second-placed Young African, who are on 49 points accrued from 27 matches. Stars beat Ongos and Tigers 2-0 each to continue their march towards securing another league and cup double, with the MTC Maris Cup already in their bulging trophy cabinet. Khomas Nampol and Mighty Gunners in third and fourth positions on 46 points apiece are the only other clubs still in with a mathematical shout of usurping the leaders. However, Nampol and Gunners will need Stars to fail to pick up points in their remaining fixtures while winning their last three each for that to happen. The Gunners are one of Stars opponents this weekend, with mid-table Okahandja United the other. Stars captain Ronald Ketjijere, who has been an integral part of the last six title triumphs, says retaining the title will require single-minded focus. “It’s getting tight at the top, so we can not afford any slip-ups. We came out knowing what we wanted, which is three points today [Sunday],” Ketjirere said following the 2-0 win over Stars courtesy of strikes from Wily Stephanus and the league’s top scorer Mbakondja Tjahikika.“Tigers is one of our hoodoo teams, we’ve struggled to beat Tigers over the years. Today we came with a different mentality.” A similar shift against Okahandja United and Mighty Gunners will guarantee the title. However, Ketjijere cautioned against getting ahead of themselves. “It’s one game at a time, we have to focus on Okahandja United. We need to get the maximum points against them,” the ex-Brave Warriors skipper said. “We know its not going to be easy as each team is now fighting for their own objectives, some want to be top eight and others want to be out of relegation. We want to win the league and we must keep our eye on the ball.” Stars head coach Bob Mafoso expects his charges to rise to the occasion and get over the finish line. “We always try to ignore what other teams are doing. We just want to focus on what we want to do,” Mafoso says. “We’re happy that we’re going into the final two weekends in control of the situation. We’re not chasing, it’s in our hands.” Meanwhile, Blue Boys became the latest club to be relegated from the topflight following another abysmal showing over the weekend. They lost 3-0 to Khomas Nampol on Saturday before going down 2-1 to Young Brazilians, who are next on the chopping block unless they can overhaul 13th place Julinho Athletic. The Brazilians are on 21 points, seven fewer than Julinho, who need only two more points to remain in the top division. Cuca Tops, who were relegated just over a week ago, held KK Palace goalless on Sunday after losing 1-0 at home to Eeshoke Chula Chula the day before. The post African Stars have league title in sight  appeared first on The Namibian.

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Stars Stumble As Dropped Points Dent Title Charge [New Era] Despite dropping valuable points on Saturday and Sunday, African Stars remain on top of the Debmarine Premiership log.

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Young Africans aim to seal Debmarine Premiership final match Erasmus Shalihaxwe Young African Football Club owner and coach Mali Ngarizemo says his team will fight for the Debmarine Premiership title until the final day, when they face African Stars Football Club in Gobabis. Ngarizemo spoke over the weekend in Windhoek after Young African beat title contenders Khomas Nampol Football Club 2-1. “We are still in the chase; we want to take it down to the wire, because we are not even done with African Stars yet, and we won’t make it easy for them. Our last game will be against them (African Stars) in Gobabis, and we hope to win the league there. Remember our next four games are at home, and we hope that will help us pick up all the points. It has not been easy playing at home, but we hope that will change in the coming games,” he said. Ngarizemo said the win against Khomas Nampol was tough. His team arrived in Windhoek late the night before after playing the Young Brazilian Football Club in Karasburg.  He said they had little time to rest, while Khomas Nampol had enough time to recover. Young Africans are second on the log with 43 points from 23 games.  African Stars lead with 46 points, also from 23 games.

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Teetering Tops headed down at a rate of knots Unless Cuca Tops FC start picking up points during the second half of the Debmarine Namibia Premiership campaign, they will be relegated after just one season back in the topflight. The Rundu-based side has picked up a paltry seven points from its first 15 matches – managing a solitary win, four draws and ten losses – leaving it at the bottom of the log standings. Should that poor run continue, Tops may go down well before completing the allotted number of matches for the season. Part of their troubles are down to coaching changes, with the team being guided by their third head coach in just four months. In a recent interview with Desert FM, the current coach Metu ‘Spider’ Tjirovi expressed optimism about the team’s ability to survive in the top tier. “I was brought in to help the team survive. The first leg hasn’t gone as planned, but we have seen improvements,” Tjirovi said. The coach highlighted that, despite the poor results, his team continues to create ample scoring opportunities in matches but struggles to convert chances. “We’ve been playing good football, creating opportunities, but our finishing has been a problem,” Tjirovi explained. “The boys panic in front of the goal, and that has cost us points.” The tactician referenced matches in which his team had taken the lead, only to end up on the losing side due to defensive lapses and goalkeeping errors. “At Oshakati, we were leading Chula-Chula until the 63rd minute. Then the goalkeeper made blunders. The two goals that he conceded caused us to lose 2-1,” Tjirovi lamented. “Here (at Rundu), against Mighty Gunners, we were leading 1-0, then Mighty Gunners came back and took a 2-1 lead. We equalised 2-2, but the referee did not give us our goal and we ended up losing again.” He also attributed the club’s struggles to inexperience and lacking a clinical goalscorer. “The boys are playing better football now, but they lack experience. If we had a more clinical striker, I believe we would have won those matches,” Tjirovi noted. The poor run of results has led to frustrations from the club’s supporters, evident at stadiums and on the club’s supporters’ WhatsApp group, where members are sometimes seen fighting about the team’s poor performance on matchdays. Desert FM also spoke with the club’s captain, Kufumana Ngeve Shilongo, who explained that the players are trying their best. He echoed Tjirovi’s sentiments, stating that the team is playing a different brand of football before calling on the supporters for understanding. “As players, after the Blue Boys game, we had a meeting on our own. We discussed the coming second round. We must just be serious with concentration and training,” Shilongo said of the way forward. “Even if some players are not doing anything in the morning, we just have to train. And the supporters, I know some are not happy, but they must just continue coming like that and we will make them happy.” The team will face third-placed Khomas Nampol and fellow relegation-threatened Young Brazilians at home this weekend, which the coach said are must-wins. He also urged supporters to remain patient and continue backing the team. “I know it’s frustrating for the fans, but the boys are learning. This is elite football and it’s a process. We need support, not insults,” he added. The post Teetering Tops headed down at a rate of knots appeared first on The Namibian.

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Stars overlook part-time home coaches for top job African Stars executive chairman Salomo Hei says Namibian coaches who were eyeing the club’s head coaching position did not meet a key requirement. Instead, the club opted for Lesotho national Bob Mafoso who was unveiled as substantive head coach of the Debmarine Premiership defending champions. He takes over from Ronnie Kanalelo who resigned at the end of January after just under a year with the team. Hei said local coaches who applied for the job were overlooked on the basis of being part-timers, adding that Mafoso’s profile aligns with the club’s lofty ambition of becoming a force on the continent. “We were looking for a career coach, in the sense that it’s someone who is a full-time coach. Not someone who will have another job from 08h00 to 17h00 and then run to Stars for the training,” Hei told Desert FM this week. “There was interest shown from local coaches but obviously we needed to understand [where] these coaches are in terms of where African Stars FC is going,” stressed Hei. The executive chairman said the process of employing a head coach had been concluded and that Benni Haoseb, who stood in for Kanalelo, had given management time to find a new tactician. “Haoseb steered the ship; I remember that he took charge of the team when we travelled to the north for the Eeshoke Chula Chula and KK Palace encounters where we collected maximum points,” Hei said. Bob Mafoso has been appointed as technical director of African Stars. File photo “Haoseb went on to deliver the inaugural MTC Maris Cup after disposing of Bucks Buccaneers in the semi-final and eventually Young African FC in the final showdown held at the Hage Geingob Rugby stadium.” Haoseb will revert to his assistant coach position. Mafoso inherits arguably the strongest side in Namibia and is expected to see them to a third consecutive league title, which will guarantee CAF Champions League qualification. Stars top the Debmarine Premiership log standings with 26 points at the halfway stage of the season, with FC Ongos second by virtue of an inferior goal-aggregate. Khomas Nampol in third place with 25 points look likely to be the other side challenging for honours. Hei believes Mafoso will justify the club’s decision to recruit him. “We have concluded and we were able to get the work permit for coach Mafoso. He has a Confederation of African Football (CAF) A licence and his résumé speaks volume in terms of what he has accomplished as a coach,” said Hei “Given where we are on the log standing, I think we are on the right track and we hope that coach Mafoso comes in and gives us the necessary impetus that we need to get over the line. “This is what we want as we continue our pursuit of the African champions league,” Hei continued. “We are very specific in terms of our objective, I mean African Stars compete for everything. We would want to have our identity in terms of how we want to grow our football.” Approached to comment on the issue of Stars opting for a foreign coach, seasoned mentor Lucky Shipanga commended the club for the direction they have taken. He said while local coaches have proven to be competent, the domestic football landscape requires that they have more than one income stream to survive. “Even if they have a CAF A licence, the coaches will never survive on the meager salary they get from the clubs that is why they will opt to work from 08h00 to 17h00 and thereafter consider the coaching work,” Shipanga said. “There is one thing you cannot take away from local coaches and that is the passion and the love they have for sport,” he added. Shipanga argued that “some of these clubs do not respect coaches and that most of the time the conversation between a club and coach centers around the aspect of simply ‘helping out’ not a substantive offer”, as clubs rely on sponsorships and grants to sustain operations. The post Stars overlook part-time home coaches for top job appeared first on The Namibian.

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