Regions present bid to host Newspaper Cup
NFA- The Namibian Newspaper Cup 2019-2020 Bid Presentations were held recently this week with Oshana, Hardap Kavango East, Omaheke and Karas Regions battling it out at a bids presentation ceremony in Windhoek at the St George’s Cathedral Church Hall.
The Namibian Newspaper Cup is an annual youth sports event that aims to promote sports development in all spheres of the country and is supported by Nedbank Namibia.
The Regions presented their PowerPoint presentations to a panel of judges except the Karas region who didn’t show up on time automatically withdrawing their race to host the 2019 and 2020 The Namibian Newspaper Cup. The Hardap and Oshana contested the hosting rights for 2019 while the Kavango East and Omaheke conflicted on the hosting right of 2020.
The Oshana Region won the cup twice in 2003 and 2016 respectively and the region meets all the requirements. As part of the judging criteria to hosting the Namibia newspaper Cup, the host town must have a stadium with an artificial or natural grass; have a minimum capacity for 2000 people and suitable lighting for night games.
The Chairman of Oshana Regional Football, Beatus Nandago said that if they do win the hosting right, the tournament will take place at the Oshakati Sports Stadium which can accommodate up to 10,000 people and has all the other necessary facilities like, changing rooms and so forth.
Another interesting presentation was that of the Hardap Region.
“Our hostels were renovated in 2016 when we wanted to host the 2017 edition of the newspaper cup, so we are technically ready to host the cup come next year, said Michael Situde, Chairman of the Hardap Region.
The excited Situde also added that the crime rate in the region is very low and the Police officers have zero tolerance for crime; thus, making the region safe for visitors and participants.
Meanwhile the Omaheke and Kavango region pulled out all stops to make sure they were heard.
“We have no doubt that we can offer what you need. The people of Kavango East welcome you. We will be ready for you come 2020,” Kavango East bid Representative Edelbert Linyando.
Omaheke region bid Representative Peka Semba said that, “our know-how in this event is well documented. We’ve got experience in winning and hosting this tournament. We have won four times and hosted twice, and in every instance we did so excellently”.
The Omaheke Region is one of the few regions in the country who have a state of the art sports stadium, the Legare Stadium. The stadium has the capacity to accommodate six thousand people.
The bidding results will be announced during the course of the week.
