Windhoek Welwitschia

The Windhoek Welwitschia association football (soccer) club in the X11 Vedder League was formed on January 6, 2009. The squad is "owned" by the Staatsregeringministrie vir Sport en Atletiese van Transvaal and managed by Bartnel Botha, the current Minister for Sport & Athletics in Transvaal.

The Welwitschias play all their home matches at Khomasdal Stadium (capacity 10,300).

Their kit colours are shirts featuring the Namibian flag (dark blue, red, and green with white trim and a yellow sun) paired with dark blue shorts with green trim. During the first five friendlies prior to the team's inaugural seasons, a temprorary kit was used consisting of brown shirts with white trim and white shorts with brown trim. The current kit was adopted on January 28, 2009.

The club sponser since their first season has been Soundic Radio. The team is often nicknamed The Wels for short and the club's fans are nicknamed Die Biltongboere.

Windhoek played its first match, a 5-3 loss in a friendly at Khomasdal Stadium versus IGFC, on January 10, 2008; Kees Waterreus scored the club's first-ever goal 29 minutes into the first-half.

Prior to joining the Vedder League, the Welwitschias had previously played one season (in February 2008) in the Transvaal Voetbalsvereniging African League, winning the regular season championship before the two domestic leagues folded.

Windhoek Welwitschias played their first competitve match on February 14, 2009 - a 2-2 draw in which Alexander Wiggers scored the club's first official goal.

Career Statistics
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Vedder League - Season 3 (Division 4)

 * EXPANSION ROSTER (January 12, 2008): Roger Deemer, Cees de Jong, Jan de Langen, Lucas Fik, Marc Hesselink, Henk-Jan Koopman, Geert Nederkoorn, Gerald Noorlander, Chris Roest, Cor Robben, Robert Persijn, Pierre Schulp, Bert Schut, Rick Sier, Rudy van Bronckhorst, Silvio Vanenburg, Kees Waterreus, and Alexander Wiggers
 * ROSTER TRANSACTIONS: Jamie Alcott signed ($95,300) as free agent on January 20, 2009; Silvio Vanenburg and Cor Robben released January 21, 2009; Carlton Drury signed ($600,000) as free agent on January 21, 2009; Dakarai Baako (prospect) signed January 21, 2009; Gil Sá signed ($900,000) as free agent on January 22, 2009; Geert Nederkoorn and Jan de Langen released January 26, 2009; Rick Sier released on January 29, 2009; Ivor Frederick signed ($900,000) as free agent on January 29, 2009; Charlie Watkins signed ($600,000) as free-agent on February 5, 2009; Henk-Jan Koopman sold for $125,076 on February 6, 2009; Emil Saxo signed ($676,003) as free agent on February 17, 2009; Vorster de Vries (junior prospect) signed on February 18, 2009; Dakarai Baako released March 1, 2009; Boyke Chan Carl (junior prospect) signed on March 4, 2009

Player merits

 * Jamie Alcott - 2nd most assists (5 assists) in Season 3 (Div.4)
 * Roger Deemer - 2nd most sending offs (1 red card) in Season 3 (Div.4)
 * Marc Hesselink - 1st MVP (7 Xpert Elevens) in Season 3 (Div.4)
 * Robert Persijn - 3rd most sending offs (1 red card) in Season 3 (Div.4)
 * Bert Schut - 3rd most points (6 Points) in Season 3 (Div.4)

"Zero Heroes"
The following players were signed by the club as part of their expansion roster but never participated in a competitive match.

Season 3 (Division 4)
JANUARY 6, 2009 - Windhoek gets new team in Vedder League

Windhoek Welwitschia Association Football Club is pleased to announce the approval of its expansion team in the Vedder League. Coached by Reginald “Reggie” Rossiter, the Welwitschias are looking forward to making a successful run during their inaugural campaign.

The new club calls Khomasdal Stadium in Windhoek, Namibia its home and is managed by Bartnel Botha, who is also the manager for the Transvaal Springboks who play in the Primera Division of Liga Mundo.

Anticipation amongst local footballing fans, nicknamed the Biltongboere, is building as the new squad will take to the field next Tuesday, January 13 in their first ever match, a friendly hosted by Olympique Clarice.

JANUARY 6, 2009 - Expansion Squads debut Saturday

The Vedder League will get its first look at the two newest members when Windhoek Welwitschia face-off versus expansion brothers IGFC this Saturday in a friendly match hosted at Khomasdal Stadium.

The Welwitschias were originally making their debut in a friendly at Olympique Clarice next week but the opportunity came up to fly IGFC into Windhoek for a pre-season friendly.

“Our club is really pleased with the arrangement of this match-up, as it will give everyone a realistic look at the two brand-new teams as I believe both teams will take the game seriously to start off on a positive note. So it should be a close match and a good display what both sides can do and also where they will need to work on” commented Manager Bartnel Botha whilst on the sidelines of Khomasdal during the squad’s first practice.

“Having been through this same expansion process with another team in another league, I’m really not expecting major strides at this early point. Our plan is to build and play patiently, looking more towards the future instead of short-term gain. We may dip into the transfer market but chances are I’ll work with what we got right now and see who attracts attention, who sticks, and who doesn’t”

Manager Botha also told the press that he expected that a number of league officials may be at the game to look in on the progress of the two squads: “Expansion always brings some apprehension to league officials, as they never know if the league has acquired a healthy addition to the family or a stillborn organization.”

JANUARY 10, 2009 - IGFC 5, Windhoek 3

Windhoek Welwitschias lost this evening 5-3 to fellow expansion club IGFC. The Welwitschias were trailing 2-0 twenty minutes into the match but goals by forward Kees Waterreus and midfielder Marc Hesselink made it a 2-2 draw just before the whistle blew at the end of the first-half.

During the second half, the Welwitschias fell behind again by two goals in the course of nines minute before midfielder Gerald Noorlander put the ball past IGFC keeper Leigh on a breakaway to pull the score back by one. Unfortunately in the dying couple of minutes IGFC scored their fifth goal to seal the final scoreline at 5-3 for the visitors.

After the match, Manager Bartnel Botha said that “...while a win would have been nice, I’ll take solace in that we were able to come back during the first half by being down by two. I like the looks of some of our midfielders but as a team we backed off a lot in our play when we did not have the ball - that will need to change.”

JANUARY 13, 2009 - Windhoek 0, Olympique Clarice 0

Windhoek Welwitschias drew nil-nil at the Stone Bass today in a friendly versus Olympique Clarice.

“I’m quite impressed by the result in light of our previous loss a few days ago. For us to draw against an established club like Olympique Clarice is a great step forward” said a happy Manager Botha in the post-game interview. “We surprisingly dominated in possession (58%), shots on goal (6 to 3) and with our midfield and offensive play – that was probably more surprising than the scoreline result.”

The Welwitschias next friendly is at home versus expansion AFC Scunthorpe this Saturday evening.

JANUARY 17, 2009 - Windhoek 6, AFC Scunthorpe 1

In today’s friendly played at Khomasdal Stadium, Windhoek Welwitschias dominated the field against AFC Scunthorpe for a convincing 6-1 victory. Forward Kees Waterreus scored 4 goals and Gerald Noorlander collected 3 assists.

The match was scoreless for half an hour until AFC Scunthorpe opened the scoring when Harold Dibbler potted the ball past Windhoek keeper H-J Koopman in the penalty area. However the Welwitschias soon took the lead when they scored two quick goals in the next couple of minutes.

The second half started with the scoreline 2-1 for Windhoek but the home team soon ran away with the ball as they put the ball past AFC Scunthorpe keeper Alfie Alcott four times in the course of half an hour.

JANUARY 21, 2009 - Dakarai Baako, resumes his soccer career

Dakarai Baako, the former member of the UCFA Springboks and former paramount chief, was signed to a contact this evening by the expansion Windhoek Welwitschias of the Vedder League.

“My political career obviously affected my playing ability and when I approached the Transvaal Springboks about signing a contract, there really wasn’t a place for me. The manager, Bartnel Botha had a frank discussion with me about my desire to resume my playing career and he suggested that I approach the new Windhoek X11 team. Once the league’s transfer window re-opened, I was offered a try-out for their midfield and subsequently signed.”

“I’m looking forward to putting all the crazy political BS that is Transvaal and my previous personal problems behind me - and just focusing myself on playing some good football in X11.”

JANUARY 24, 2009 - Wels drop rematch against IGFC

Windhoek Welwitschia lost 2-1 in their re-match this evening versus IGFC at The Theartre of Wet Dreams.

The Wels have dropped two games against IGFC, in their previous meeting on the wrong side of a 5-3 loss.

“IGFC is a team we have not been able to crack in the friendlies, it’ll be interesting to see how our meetings are during the regular season when our boys bring their tougher game” commented manager Bartnel Botha to reporters in the dressing room. Forward Pierre Schulp had the lone tally for Windhoek.

Windhoek’s next friendly is at home when the Vedder League champions All Star Bassist F.C make a visit to Khomasdal Stadium.

“We have no illusions how this match will turn out – this game is strictly for our fans. To show them our appreciation of their strong support to help get this club off the ground, we felt that we owed it to them to bring in the very best side.”

Tickets for the All Star Bassist match have already sold out and drawn fans from all over Namibia. The club reports that season tickets are still available but are expected to go fast once the regular season gets under way.

JANUARY 27, 2009 - Windhoek upsets Bassists 3-2

In a friendly hosted yesterday at Khomasdal Stadium, the visiting All Star Bassists FC were expected to make short work out of Windhoek Welwitschia. However the new lads on the block took it to the Vedder League Champions and eked out a 3-2 victory.

Domenica Lee opened the scoring for the Bassists with a long-range powerful shot which sailed past a stunned HJ Koopman at the 21st minute. Undaunted the Wels dug in hard and began to make BB King work as three shots were fired against the visiting goal in a ten minutes span. Pierre Schulp was then able to get the ball past BB King on Windhoek’s fourth try to even the scoreboard at one goal apiece at the 35th minute.

Schulp had two more tries against King and then bagged Windhoek it’s second goal to take the lead six minutes later. Four minutes later, midfielder Jamie Alcott then chipped in a header past BB King to give the home side a 2-goal lead.

Jaco Pastorius then clawed one back for the All Star Bassists just seconds before the half-time whistle to make the score 3-2.

While the Welwitschias dominated with strong ball possession, All Star Bassists showed their true championship form by making the most of their chances as Wels keeper Koopman let in both shots he faced.

Compared to the excitement of the first half, the second half was more subdued.

Disaster struck both teams at the 50th minutes when midfielder misdirected a clearing kick back to HJ Koopman and accidentally put the ball in for an own-goal, evening the score line at 3-3. However another reversal struck, this time for the Bassists, when referee Frank Redkard disallow it due to an apparent foul on the play by the champions. Windhoek would get one more attempt on net twenty minutes later but otherwise the rest of the half was rather dull for the fans to watch.

“This win was pretty sweet; quite a shocker really” commented Manager Botha afterwards, “although I found our goaltending was somewhat abysmal. Our keeper was able to only stop one of three shots, while All Star Bassists’ keeper King played admirable under the pressure and was able to make half his saves.”

“I’ve been happy with our results during the pre-season – although we have had noticeable trouble against the English side IGFC. Not sure why, they seem to have had our number in our two meetings so far.”

FEBRUARY 1, 2009 - Windhoek 3, FC Sankt Pauli 2

Windhoek Welwitschia chalked up another friendly victory against FC Sankt Pauli on Saturday. The visiting Namibian side held a two goal lead for most of the match but the final score was 3-2.

“St. Pauli played a lot better this game than in our previous meeting” complimented Manager Botha after the match ended. “It’s obvious they’ve been practicing hard since our last match-up, the possession time and opportunities during the first half were fairly close. At the end of the day, I believe we were able to make better use of possession”

The Welwitschias next two friendlies are against visiting Ligue 1 teams Subliminal Rovers and H Block Harriers. “Our club believes that not only should we play friendlies to prepare us against our likely opposition in Ligue 3 this coming season, but by playing against the very best sides we also gain valuable knowledge as to the long-term fortunes of this squad on the field” said coach Reggie Rossiter. “It is our goal to challenge every Ligue 1 team for friendlies”.

The match at Warsteiner Arena was also the debut of the new Welwitschia kit featuring the Namibian flag as its main design.

FEBRUARY 15, 2009 - Windhoek goes 2-2 in league debut

A late red card for Windhoek Welwistchia bungled a two-goal lead against Blonde Moments as the home side struck back for two goals to even out the final result 2-all.

The Welwitschias got on the scoreboard when Alexander Wiggers scored on a penalty kick conceded just seconds before the referee blew the whistle to score Windhoek’s first official goal in competitive play and close out an otherwise dull first half.

Eight minutes into the second half, Ivor Frederick set up Pierre Schulp for a long range shot to give the Windhoek a strong two-goal lead.

However defender Robert Persijn was booked twice within ten minutes and sent off for an early shower which left Windhoek down a man with eleven minutes left to play. That was enough time for Blonde Moments to get back into the game and bang two quick goals past a stunned Charlie Watkins.

Commented Manager Botha afterwards: “After playing such a long pre-season tour, I think the boys were nervous going to our first competitive match. Unfortunately we found a way to steal defeat from the jaws of victory today.”

Next up on the schedule is the club’s home debut at Khomasdal Stadium when F.C. This is Malfoy make the trip to Namibia.

FEBRUARY 21, 2009 - Windhoek wins home opener

Vedder League football made its debut in Namibia today when Khomasdal Stadium hosted FC This Is Malfoy. The home fans didn’t go home disappointed as Windhoek Welwitschia walked away with a 2-0 win against their visitors from Spain.

Midfielder Ivor Frederick got the Wels on the scoreboard when Marc Hesselink set him up for a long range shot at the 20th minute. Then with five minutes remaining, Malfoy midfielder Mateo Aizkorreta accidentally deflected the ball into his own net to allow Windhoek to take a 2-0 lead.

While both teams matched up well on defense, the Welwitschias held a noticeable advantage on their offense.

“We were apprehensive going into today’s match as last week our opponent was coming off a win against IGFC – a team we really struggled against in two friendly meetings during the pre-season.”

Today’s win also saw three Windhoek players – Alexander Wiggers, Marc Hesselink, and Cees de Jong – make the X11 team for Week 2 and Manager Bartnel Botha named the X11 manager.

Windhoek Welwitschia now goes on the road as they travel to Utah for next week’s match against Runnin Utes.

FEBRUARY 28, 2009 - Windhoek loses 4-2 in gong show effort

A disorganized mess on defense today caused major setbacks for Windhoek Welwitschia as they coughed up a 4-2 loss versus Runnin Utes.

“Our play in our own end was atrocious!” exclaimed Manager Botha has he berated his players after the match in the dressing room.

Problems started early when back-up Gil Sá was given the nod for the start - but then forced to leave the game early from injury. A cold Charlie Watkins then went in but was completely ineffective against his opposition, allowing in all four shots against him.

Defender Cees de Jong then blundered a clearing pass when he forgot which way he was facing and booted the ball into his own net.

The visitors now clearly frustrated being down 4-0, the match then deteriorated into war zone in the second half as the Welwitschias began to cheapshot and trip up the Runnin Ute players whenever Referee Sten Koll wasn’t looking. The dirty goon play seemed to pay off somewhat as the homeside lost three players to injury and Windhoek was able crash their way to the net twice to narrow the score down to 4-2.

“It’s a frickin’ gong show out there” said Damien Reese of the Runnin Utes from the sidelines after he was carried off. “You’d think these guys showed up to play rugby and not football.” The Wels saw a total of five bookings during the match, four yellows and one red card right at the final whistle when Roger Deemer showed his frustration with the loss by flipping the bird at the Ute fans.

“That was a disgusting display by the visitors, their manager needs to restrain his players better” commented one fan as he was heading towards the exits.

MARCH 4, 2009 - Wels add junior star to starting line-up

It’s rare when a junior prospect joins a team and has an immediate impact – however just that happened today when Windhoek Welwitschia promoted fullback Boyke Chan Carl from their junior team.

Manager Bartnel Botha signed the 20-year Surinamese player this morning and he has already been given a starting position on the Wels’ defensive line.

“Boyke is the most talented signing our club has made so far – he’s that good enough as a prospect that he walked on and automatically secured one of the starting eleven. He’s also adept at taking freekicks, which is something I always like in a defender as it then opens up all the midfielders and forwards for setting up an attacking run.”

“I wasn’t really planning on making any further additions to our defensive line, but Boyke caught our scouts' eyes during recent junior squad matches and it was obvious that he should really be playing up in senior football. To see a young talent of his calibre able to join our squad... well, I was simply overjoyed” said Botha.

Boyke’s debut will be this Saturday in front of his home fans against league-leading Nottm Forest - where he is expected to make an impact in shutting down the potent Forest offense.

MARCH 15, 2009 - Manager relieved as Wels clobber IGFC

Going into yesterday’s match at IGFC, Manager Bartnel Botha admitted he was somewhat nervous as to how his squad would perform.

“We played IGFC twice during our lengthy pre-season and we lost to them both times. Even though they were sitting in last place, I still had concerns - as some teams just have your number no matter how good or bad the talent difference is between the teams.”

Therefore the cautious Botha was pleasantly surprised when Windhoek Welwitschia bagged a goal in the first minute of the match and then launched on a scoring tear during the rest of the first half to take a dominating 5-0 lead. Rudy van Bronckhorst, Pierre Schulp, Bert Schut, and Kees Waterreus were the goal scorers along with an own-goal courtesy of Greg Deary on IGFC.

The second half was scoreless but both teams continued to play hard as IGFC had three bookings and two Windhoek players left early due to injuries sustained.

The victory put Windhoek Welwitschia back in second place after dropping down to fourth place last week from going winless in the previous two games – although one of those games was a nil-all draw against Fourth Division high-flyers Nottm Forest.

“Nottm Forest are definitely the class of the division right now and when we re-match in a couple of weeks it should be the best clash of the second half of the season. It appears that the rest of the teams have fallen on difficult times or lost their managers, so I think it is safe to say that us and Nottm Forest will be promoted at the end of the season.”

APRIL 12, 2009 - Promotion on the line next week

Windhoek Welwitschia faces Blonde Moments next week in a match which will determine second place and promotion to Division 3; a win or a draw will guarantee promotion for the Wels. Sharks FC in third place still maintain a mathematical chance but face division-dominant Nottm Forest and would require an impossible 11-goal margin of victory – so the battle for second boils down between Blonde Moments and Windhoek.

Last Saturday, the Welwitschias defeated FC This Is Malfoy by the score of 3-0. Reserve forward Emil Saxo scored twice while midfielder Ivor Frederick picked up the other goal.

APRIL 18, 2009 - Wels demolish Blonde Moments

In the final match of the Vedder League season, Windhoek Welwitschia required a win or a draw to secure second place and promotion to the third division. This afternoon they did just that as Rudy van Bronckhorst – player who was slated to be placed on the transfer line – got a rare start and the unexpectedly bagged four goals for the Wels’ in their 6-0 romp over Blonde Moments. Roger Deemer, another forward whose job was also seen to be on the line, scored one goal while midfielder Bert Schut collected the other. Fringe midfielder Jamie Alcott had a career game as he set up and assisted on 5 of Windhoek’s goals.

“It was a case of all our second-line and fringe players giving that extra effort today to impress management for the following season” said Manager Bartnel Botha. “Deemer and Van Bronckhorst we tried to move during the season as they weren’t really getting much playing time - but there were no takers. It’s quite possible after today’s strong showing that these two will gain a reprieve and we’ll keep them around for another season.”

“Alcott was another player who panned out somewhat and didn’t quite perform as well as expected during the course of the season, although today he had a great match and got X11 honours for the first time. He’s still young so he’s got plenty of time to improve and we picked him up for a steal, at one-tenth what he is worth now, so definitely one I will keep around.”

Back-up goalkeeper Gil Sá – who oddly enough played in more matches than starter Charlie Watkins – had an easy time as the Welwitschias outshot Blonde Moments 14 to 2.

Transvaal World Cup
The Welwitschias participated in Transvaal World Cup III as a filler team to balance out the tournament scheduling. Completely outclassed by the stronger national squads, they finished in 44th and last place - losing to Checors in a shoot-out.