Khorixas readies for charity tourney
All roads are leading to the usually sleepy village of Khorixas for the 13th edition of the annual Welwitschia Football Tournament this December.
The eagerly-awaited three-day football bonanza is slated for the 17th of December at the Herbert Conradie stadium and the Cornelius Goreseb High School field.
A total of 24 teams from surrounding areas in the mighty Erongo region will be joined by their counterparts from the Kunene, Otjozondjupa and Khomas regions, all gearing up to converge in the semi-desert village for the annual football festival, which has captured the imagination of inhabitants.
The popular tourney is the brainchild of the Welwitschia Charity Foundation, a non-profit organisation called into life with the ultimate aim to assist needy community members through social development and poverty alleviation initiatives.
Apart from football, the annual event, which has become the flagship public gathering in the village, boasts an appetising menu of a variety of activities topped by a luncheon for senior citizens, the distribution of food parcels to elders and other less-fortunate members of society, the donation of sanitary care products to those in need, a clean-up campaign of pensioners’ living quarters, a road safety awareness campaign and live music performances, before concluding with a joint multi-denominational church service on Sunday.
The annual gathering has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception in 2009.
A significant number of the region’s inhabitants have benefitted handsomely from proceeds accrued from the tournament. It has also contributed tremendously towards social development and the overall social upliftment of society.
As it stands, over 2 000 households, dozens of artists, hundreds of athletes and a large chunk of the village’s business community have become chief beneficiaries of this amazing humanitarian project.
The tourney will be preceded by a live broadcast on the indigenous NBC Damara/Nama Kaisames radio station, starting at 06h00.
The football winner is guaranteed to take home a handsome prize of N$15 000, with the runners-up having to be satisfied with a consolation prize of N$8 000. The losing semi-finalists will be N$3 500 richer apiece for their troubles.
The draw will be conducted live on Kaisames on 17 December 2021. Registration fee is N$1 500 (non-refundable).
The closing date for registration is set for 15 December 2021.
Would-be participants can contact event organisers Marshall !Gomeb at 081 261 4131 or Gerson Ore-Aob on 081 395 5053.