Arnold festival on the cardsFootball, netball and horse racing this weekend The annual John Arnold sport festival has received a sponsorship boost from various companies. The Omatako Constituency will host the third edition of the annual Chief John Arnold sport festival from Friday to Sunday. The festival is held in honour of the late Chief John Arnold of the !Kung Traditional Authority .
The event will see teams from Tsumkwe Constituency as well as teams from the Grootfontein military base competing for top honours.
Football, netball and a horse race will be witnessed at the event.
The chairperson of the local organising committee, Lot Ndamanomhata, says the tournament is aimed at promoting unity in the small communal area.
“The tournament is there to raise awareness of sport in the constituency and also to promote healthy living.
“I salute the traditional authority for wanting to make sure that their people have an interest in sport.
“It is not easy for them because they have no resources, but I salute the organising committee for volunteering their time and resources to make this happen.
“This tournament honours the late Chief John Arnold for the work he did for his people and the development that he inspired in the Omatako area,” Ndamanomhata said at a press conference.
The winners of the football tournament will walk away with N$5 000 while the runners up take home N$3 500 and the team that finishes third will be compensated with N$2 000 for their efforts.
The netball winners will receive N$3 000, the runners-up N$2 000 and the third-placed team N$1 000.
The owner of the winning horse in the horse race will receive N$1 000, the runner-up N$700 and the third-placed horse N$500. The best football and netball players of the tournament will receive N$300.
“I wish to thank all the partners that made this event possible, namely the !Kung Traditional Authority and our sponsors,” Ndamanomhata said Uukumwe Youth Empowerment is the main sponsor of the festival after pumping in N$50 000, while Camposatu Investments handed over a cheque of N$30 000.
Nampower donated sport equipment worth N$10 000 and Oluzizi World of Commerce contributed N$1 000 towards the event.
Uukumwe Youth Empowerment owner Solomon Ilovu said: “We are a youth consortium and our job is to help young people.
“Last year, we sponsored the festival and this year we are doing it again. We will sponsor this festival for as long as we can.”
JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA