KEETMANSHOOP — Quiver Football Club from Keetmanshoop clinched the title at the Fourth Annual Harders Cup football tournament, defeating Spiders FC from Noordoewer 4-2 in a riveting final held in Lüderitz on Sunday. The victory awarded them a floating trophy and a cash prize of N$200,000.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the tournament kicked off on Friday at the Lüderitz soccer field, featuring 20 teams from the ||Kharas second division league and one from the first division. Quiver FC’s journey to the finals included a 2-0 victory over Mountain Rangers of Rosh Pinah FC, while Spiders FC advanced after triumphing over Youngsters from Lüderitz 5-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw.

The final game saw early action with Jacobus Meyer of Quiver FC scoring in the 15th minute, setting the pace for the match. By half-time, Quiver led 1-0. The intensity heightened in the second half, with Meyer scoring again from a penalty in the 53rd minute after a Spiders player was penalized for a handball. Stephanus Makayi added a third for Quiver in the 64th minute. However, Spiders FC responded robustly with Mosses Frederick and Kaveid Kapunda scoring in the 82nd and 84th minutes respectively, narrowing the gap to 3-2. Meyer sealed Quiver’s victory with his third goal of the match in the 85th minute.

Leevi Zanda, coach of Quiver FC, praised the commitment of his team and the quality of the competition. "I am overwhelmed, coming into this tournament we were training morning and afternoon and it worked and I think that is what gave us the advantage here. I respect Spiders FC, they came fighting and they displayed good football, especially in the last minutes," Zanda commented.

On the other side, Spiders FC coach, Cassey Khakisi, reflected on the team's first participation in the tournament. "Since it's our very first time here I think it's a very big achievement. We just need to go back to the drawing board and get ready for next year. Coming into this tourney we had a program for one month to prepare the boys mentally and physically because we knew we would play a lot of games," Khakisi said.

In terms of prize distribution, Spiders FC received N$100,000 for their second-place finish, while Mountain Rangers and Youngsters received N$50,000 and N$30,000 respectively for third and fourth places. Jacobus Meyer was also recognized as the top scorer of the tournament, taking home an additional N$20,000 for his six goals.