The Namibian Galz & Goals U15 soccer team took top honors at the Hessequa Cup tournament which was recently held at Riverville in South Africa’s Western Cape province.
The event which coincided with the latter stages of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, started on July 3 and ended on the final day of the FIFA World Cup with the Namibian team of Under 15 girls winning gold in the six-a side and 11-a side girls categories.
The Namibian team also shared their message of "girls making smart choices for a healthy life", as they participated in ‘Kicking AIDS Out’ activities, which get the girls talking about life skills and behaviours that could put them at risk of contracting HIV, on the sixth day of the competition at Slangrivier.
The Galz & Goals initiative is a partnership between the NFA and SCORE Namibia with support from UNICEF and has also been short-listed for a prestigious International Beyond Sport Award at the 2010 Beyond Sport Summit in Chicago this September.
The project aims to empower adolescent local girls by providing them with the knowledge to make healthy choices about their lifestyle, and provides them with the opportunity to play football.
“We left a huge impression and because it is an annual tournament, it is a great platform for our girls and boys to share their experiences with others internationally. We are definitely planning to go back again next year,” said Jackey Gertze of the NFA Women’s Desk.
Other countries that participated included Hungary, South Korea and China, as well as some local teams from South Africa.
After the success of the first tournament in 2010, the two-week tournament will be hosted annually in Hessequa. The tournament will be a melting pot with youths and amateur football players from the four corners of the world, meeting fellow footballers and making new friends.