ACFA ends year strong with seven trophies

Athletic Club Football Academy (ACFA) had a stellar 2024 season, winning seven trophies in their different age groups, namely the MTC HopSol Youth League’s U/12 and the recently-concluded The Champion Super Four football tournament, where they took U/17 and U/15, respectively.

The academy won four titles at their very own tournament in Windhoek earlier in the month.

Director of the academy Ricky Averia said it has been an amazing year for the academy throughout all the age groups.

“We have seen players develop within their teams, and who have formed unbelievable bonds amongst themselves, which contributed to the team’s success. I am absolutely happy for all the players and coaches. They deserve every bit of accolade and recognition,” he exclaimed.

He revealed that their programme is player-centred.
It is based on an individual player-development approach.

“We take the players out of their comfort zone occasionally. But we also let them enjoy the game. At the grassroots level, we teach them how to play the game, not how to win games. There’s a difference,” he said.

“I believe our success this year is a result of the team of coaches we have at the academy, who have implemented the development process since the establishment of the academy,” he remarked.

ACFA’s U/15 gaffer Nicky Gawaseb told his players that the year would not be easy.

He however implemented a rigorous work schedule for them, which they followed to the team.
“Our performance of this year was outstanding. These players did everything right from the training to the game day.
We worked together, and we also had our fights, but that did not stop us from our goals, each player gave their all,” he said.

His team conceded only four goals for the year, did not lose a match and drew one match.
They have no loss for a year and won three tournaments for the year.
“We will continue to work and hope to see some of my players in the national team set-up, especially the U/17 or U/20 squad,” he said.

Coach Gift Tjivukua from the U/7 category said it was a good start showing some heart, which helped them to win the DTS tournament.
However, the boys had to improve their fundamentals individually.

“During mid-year/season, the boys really display some growth. As a group, they adapt very well to the playing style. They could connect some passes and be more direct. They had a great mindset dominating three tournaments. Individually, the boys got better on their fundamentals. They had confidence using their weaker foot, dominating 1 on 1s and finishing,” he stated.

ACFA recently joined forces with Rundu-based outfit Julinho Sporting Football Club.
They revealed the master plan to have satellite academies throughout the major regions.

This will give opportunities for players to take part in their holistic development programme.

“We would like to start at the grassroots level so that the football fundamentals and values are covered. But for this to be a success, we need strong community engagement and a total buy-in to our project by the surrounding community,” he said.

“Talented players from the regions will be brought to our main centre in the capital to further develop their football in the hope of falling into our complete player pathway. All this will take time, but the obvious first stop will be Rundu,” he said.

ACFA was established in 2017 with U/7, U/9 and U/11 players.

They added an age group every year, providing a pathway for the ones who started.

“With the merger, there is a complete pathway for players to develop at different stages. Right now, we have grown to an extent that we must, unfortunately, turn players away due to our limited resources and a strict policy of player-to-coach ratio of 1:14,” he stated.

The 2025 registration is open for current and old members only.
Registration will be open to the public from 30 November.

Photos: Tangi Mulundu

Caption:
Photo 1: Winners… ACFA U/12 won the MTC HopSol Youth League age group.
Photo 2: Cheque time..ACFA U/13 won N$5000.00 for coming in second at the Champion Super Four Football tournament in Swakopmund.
Photo 3: Red Army… ACFA march onto the field at their recent tournament.
Photo 4: Top coaches… MTC HopSol Youth League were crowned ACFA coaches in their different age groups.