Kasi Cup finals this weekend

The annual informal settlements competition, the Kasi Cup, reaches its highlight this weekend when the finals will be held at the Johnny Ya Otto Sports Field in Wanaheda. The competition was initiated about 15 years ago when the Windhoek Municipal Council joined forces with communities from informal settlements to explore how sport can be harnessed as a tool for social integration and personal growth. This led to the creation of the Informal Settlement Sport Tournament Programme and the Kasi Cup which was established in 2011. The tournament is designed exclusively for residents of Windhoek's informal areas and has grown into a platform that promotes youth participation in sport, nurtures local talent, and creates opportunities for positive engagement within communities in informal settlements. Since then the competition has grown from strength to strength with several league competitions being held in the various informal settlement, while the top two teams in each league are then invited to compete at the finals each year. This year the tournament was once again well represented with close to 2 000 players from 83 football teams competing, while 108 netball players representing nine netball teams also competed. All of Windhoek's informal settlements are represented in the tournament, including Greenwell Matongo, Havana, Okahandja Park, Ombili, Hakahana, Otjomuise, Babilon, Goreangab, 7de Laan, 8ste Laan, Oshitenda, Groot Aub, Ongulumbashe, Mix and Ozohambo zaKuaima. Wacca Kazombiaze of the City of Windhoek said the Kasi Cup has a rich history. "We started the Kasi Cup in 2011 because we saw a need of developing sport and recreational events and programmes within the City of Windhoek and specifically the informal settlements. We engaged with residents of the informal settlements who came up with 'bush leagues' in various areas which are played at City of Windhoek public open spaces, on informal gravel pitches that we also maintain before and after rainfall," he said. "So that is how it started and now these residents play their leagues in different constituencies and then we select the best two teams from each area to compete in the final," he added. Kazombiaze said the idea was also to keep people busy over weekends. "The initiative is basically to extend recreational programmes in those areas, to enhance social cohesion and to motivate people to stay away from places like shebeens so that they can be busy on Saturdays, because these leagues are really busy. They start at seven in the morning and then finish around six in the evening," he said. Kazombiaze said the competition has already unearthed some talented players who were snapped up by soccer clubs in Windhoek. "In 2023 some players from Groot Aub were signed up by Orlando Pirates, while other players joined various first and second division clubs, and this is what we want - we want the players to make progress and be selected for clubs," he said. The draw for the tournament was made at yesterday's launch and is as follows: Football draw: Zula United v Ondobe XI; Okahenge FC v Otjomuise Wolves; Q7 FC v Bravo United; OKP United v Super Eleven. Netball draw: Goreangab NC v Samora Beauties; Mix NC v Iwisa NC; Sweet Berries v Groot Aub; Thlabunelo NC v Moses Garoeb. The winning teams will each receive N$5 000 worth of sport equipment, gold medals and a trophy; the runners-uop will receive N$3 000 worth of sport equipment and silver medals; and the third placed teams will receive N$2 000 worth of sport equipment and bronze medals. The competition will start at 08h00 on Saturday morning and will continue on Sunday, with the finals scheduled for about 12h00. The Kasi Cup is organised in collaboration with long-standing co-sponsors, including the Namibian Bottling Company, OTB Sport and Omulunga Radio.