‘Heartbreaking’ relegation for Maova

...TS Sporting sent packing from GladAfrica Championship

Namibian goalkeeper Edward Maova has described the fate of the club he calls home as ‘heartbreaking’, following TS Sporting’s relegation from the GladAfrica Championship.

The team failed to pick up enough points and finished the season in one of two spots reserved for the sides with the lowest haul of points. They joined Jomo Cosmos in being relegated from South Africa’s second tier league.

Reacting to the news prior to the team’s last match over the weekend, Maova said “there is now no professional team in the province [and] it’s heartbreaking.”

TS Sporting counts Mbombela as their home base, which is a town considered to be the capital of the Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. A few years ago, the town had two teams in the First Division. The demise of Mbombela United, which had points deducted for fielding a player registered with two teams during the 2019/20 season, however saw Maova’s club being the sole representative of the area in a professional set-up.

The team’s failure to retain their spot in the GladAfrica Championship now means that there will be no team from the Mpumalanga Province.

This situation saddens Maova.

“Lots of people will lose their jobs. It is

“Lots of people will lose their jobs. It is a very sad phase.”

“I haven’t spoken to my agent yet. I will talk to him after the Cosafa Cup. Hopefully, I get a call-up and get some games to play.”

a very sad phase,” the goalkeeper told The PlayMaker. He added that he is not looking too far into the future, as those involved with TS Sporting are still trying to come to terms with what happened. “Honestly speaking, I am just trusting on God to redirect me as His will was fulfilled,” he noted, before admitting that he has not yet thought of his next move. “I haven’t spoken to my agent yet. I will talk to him after the Cosafa Cup. Hopefully, I get a call-up and get some games to play.” The Cosafa Cup is set to take place in July. It remains to be seen what kind of team Namibia will send to the regional national team competition, with current Brave Warriors interim coach Bobby Samaria reportedly only in charge for the two 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers scheduled for June.

Maova, meanwhile, is still hoping that TS Sporting might survive the drop as there are cases pending regarding two teams. “I hear there are some pending cases regarding TTM and Black Leopards, that they might get points deducted. So, we’ll wait and see how that goes,” he shared.