NPL awards in June

NPL awards in JuneLeague plans AGM Players, coaches and referees will be rewarded for their hard work at the 2019 MTC Namibia Premier League awards. The MTC Namibia Premier League (NPL) 2018/19 season awards will take place in June, league spokesperson Andre Gariseb has revealed.

The league officially ended on Sunday and Black Africa were crowned champions, while 2017/18 winners African Stars finished as runners-up.

Gariseb confirmed that the league has scheduled the awards for next month, but the exact date has not been set as yet.

“I can confirm that the awards will be in June because we are now busy sorting out the logistics.

“We are busy consulting our sponsors and making all the necessary arrangements before we can decide on a date.

“All in all, it is a busy time for us because we are also planning on holding an AGM,” Gariseb said.

Black Africa won the league with 64 points from 28 matches, scoring 66 and conceding 22 goals this season.

The champions won 19 of their 28 matches, losing only two and dropping two points on seven occasions.

African Stars, who missed out on defending their title by six points, finished the season with 19 wins, six draws and six loses.

Tura Magic had one of their best seasons in the premier league since gaining promotion and finished third.

The Magicians ended the season with 12 wins, 11 draws and five defeats, while securing their spot with 47 points.

Unam FC, who also had a good season, came in fourth with 11 wins, nine draws and eight loses, while registering 42 points after 28 matches.

Life Fighters, Mighty Gunners, Citizens and Eleven Arrows all secured their places in the Standard Bank Top 8 Cup after finishing in the top half of the premier league table.

The NPL journey of one of Namibia's biggest premier league sides, Civics FC, came to an abrupt end after they were relegated on the final day.

Civics finished 14th with 28 points. Orlando Pirates, who finished 15th with 23 points, and Young African 16th, after being demoted earlier in the season, will also play first division football next season. Young Brazilians finished just above Civics on 29 points.

Civics was founded in 1983 by a group of students who initially named the team Bethlehem Boys, after a local street

The club later became the Mighty Civilians, before being recast again as Civics.

Civics have been a formidable side in the past and won the league in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

The Civilians won the NFA Cup in 2003 and 2008 and also participated in the CAF Champions League on three occasions - in 2004, 2006 and 2007.

Another shocking exit from the NPL were Katutura giants Orlando Pirates.

The 1990 and 2008 premier league champions had an appalling season.

Founded in 1963, Orlando Pirates enjoyed good years in the premier league and were always known as one of the most formidable sides in the NPL.

However, they have been delivering below-standard performances in the league for the past couple of years.

The club also experienced management problems, which left them disorganised.

The surprise packages of the premier league, Young Brazilians FC and Okahandja United, survived their first-ever seasons of topflight football.

The two clubs had to wait until the final day to be sure.

Life Fighters goal-scoring machine Issaskar Gurirab finished the season as top-scorer with 22 goals, followed by African Stars predator Crispin Mbewe with 15 goals.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that the Fifa normalisation committee will disclose its progress in terms of getting first division football up-and-running as soon as possible, following communications with Fifa.

The ad hoc committee responsible for making sure that the first division kicks off met yesterday afternoon to discuss the way forward.

Jesse Jackson Kauraisa