More than 100 young school girls turned out for Galz & Goals soccer matches at the Eldorado Field in Khomasdal on July 31, with five matches taking place in the Under 13 league and one in the Under 15 league.
Theo Katjimune Primary School and Namibian Pumpkins both recorded big victories against Pioniers Park in the Galz and Goals Under 13 league.
Namibian Pumpkins beat Pioniers Park 6-0 while Theo Katjimune beat them by the same score.
Theo Katjimune also beat the Spanish Pumpkins 3-0 but were held to a 1-1 draw by Eros Primary.
In another Under 13 match, Eros Primary beat Pioniers Park 1-0.
In the only Under 15 match of the day, Hage Geingob beat Super Strikers 3-2 in an entertaining match where the girls of both sides displayed some fine soccer skills.
Project coordinator Marybeth Gallagher expressed delight at the turnout and the impact that the league was having on the girls.
“These girls just love to play soccer. They have so much fun just to be able to play and participate that they don’t care about the score,” she said.
Many of them just turn up on the spur of the moment without jerseys or boots but they insist on playing barefoot with the result that Gallagher has to incorporate them into the already congested league.
The turnout was quite remarkable bearing in mind that one of the participating schools, AI Steenkamp held its sport day which drew a lot of the normal participating teams.
Hage Geingob which has been a constant participant each weekend, is currently leading the Under 15 log, but they should receive strong competition from the Jacky Shipanga Academy later in the season. The JS Academy dominated last season’s league but have not played much in the league so far this season. They core of the JS Academy team represented Namibia at the Hessequa Cup in South Africa in July where the Namibia won the Under 13 as well as Under 15 competitions.
In the Under 13 competition the Namibian Pumpkins and Michelle McLean Primary School are currently the early pace setters, but they, too, can expect strong competition from the JS Academy’s feeder team, the Baby Beauties who have also missed the early rounds of the league.
Galz and Goals Results July 31
Under 13
Hage Geingob 1
Theo Katjimune 1 Eros Primary 1
Namibian Pumpkins 6 Pioniers Park 0
Eros Primary 1 Pioniers Park 0
Theo Katjimune 6 Pioniers Park 0
Theo Katjimune 3 Spanish Pumpkins 0
Under 15
Hage Geingob 3 Super Strikers 2