The last activation for the Neymar Jr’s Five soccer tournament took place over the weekend at the University of Namibia’s (UNAM) Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology in Ongwediva.
Over 150 teams are expected to compete in Oshakati, Swakopmund and Windhoek.
The Neymar Jr’s Five, a Brazilian soccer star’s signature five-a-side soccer contest, is a Red Bull initiative co-sponsored by Bank Windhoek.
At the activation, UNAM students registered their teams and participated in various soccer activities such as kicking a ball through half circle hoops. “We would like to warn other teams that we are ready to represent the north come the qualifiers,” said Volkano’s captain, Mateus Iindombo. The northern qualifiers are slated to take place on Saturday, 9 June 2018 at the Independence Stadium in Oshakati.
“We are excited by the great interest the tournament has garnered and look forward to the first qualifiers which will set the tone for the rest of the matches this weekend in Swakopmund,” said André le Roux, Manager for Public Relations at Bank Windhoek.
Meanwhile, soccer fanatics between the ages of 16 to 25, regardless of gender, are encouraged to enter and make their way to the Tamariskia Sports Fields on Saturday, 2 June 2018. This is for the first tournament qualifiers and will see coastal teams battle it out for a spot in the National Final which will take place on Saturday, 30 June 2018 at the UN Plaza in Windhoek. The Windhoek qualifiers will take place on Saturday, 16 June 2018 at Dawid Bezuidenhout Sports Fields.
Only one Namibian team is eligible to win the main prize; an all-expenses paid trip to the World Final in Brazil and the potential to play against Neymar Jr’s team.
Participating teams can look forward to life changing experiences. Once they are crowned the National Champion, they are rewarded with an opportunity to represent Namibia at the World Finals on Saturday, 21 July 2018 at the Instituto Projeto Neymar Jr in Praia Grande, Brazil. Snickers, the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and Fresh FM are also sponsors of the event.