The Okavango Community Trust (OCT)’s Annual Football Tournament returns bigger and better this year with an increased sponsorship and more teams that will be participating.
The tournament will this year be sponsored to the tune of P60 000 as compared to last year’s P40 000 while another team has been added to the five that were competing last edition.
The organisers on the other hand have also intensified their branding and marketing to reach out and attract a high number of spectators. The tournament which is sponsored by OCT and Okavango Wilderness Safaris (OWS) will be held in Beetsha village at Beetsha Football Grounds from the 24th to the 26th March this year.
In an interview, OCT General Manager Botshelo Sesinyi revealed that for this year’s tournament, OWS has contributed P20 000 to top up the P40 000 contributed by OCT. Sesinyi said with the increased sponsorship, the teams and individual players will also benefit more on monetary prizes.
New comers to the tournament are Kwedi Sables, – a team from OWS’s Kwedi concession which will be joining the regulars Seronga, Gunotsoga, Eretsha, Beetsha and Gudigwa.
Sesinyi explained that through the tournament they intend to promote sporting activities in the OCT villages, to promote healthful living as well as to provide recreational activities for the youth. He added that the tournament also creates awareness to the people in the community about the importance of tourism and conservation.
Position one will receive an amount of P6 600, position two P6 100 while position three will receive P4 700. Position four, five and six will equally receive P3500 each.
During the tournament there will also be some individual awards that are meant to appreciate those who performed well. The awards will recognise the player of the tournament, the best goal keeper, top goal scorer and the winners will all walk away with P400 each.
The inaugural tournament commenced in 2000 and it was by then fully sponsored by Okavango Wildness Safaris (OWS) until 2004 when OCT took over the sponsorship responsibility until 2022. This year OWS is back as a co-sponsor.
Last year’s tournament was held in Seronga and the village which has won the tournament six times are the defending champions.
