Kaapstad Hornets

Noordryksevoetbalklub Kaapstad Hornets (Cape Town Hornets Nordreich Football Club) association football (soccer) club in Nordreich Liga was formed on September 21, 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 Hornets play all their home matches at Greenpoint Stadium (capacity 56,000) in Cape Town.

Their kit colours are yellow and black with white trim. Their sweaters are yellow with a black diagonal stripe and white trim while their shorts are black with yellow trim.

The club sponsor - like all Transvaler teams - is Soundic Radio of Sweden.

The Hornets' expansion roster included former Transvaal Springboks forward great Ricardo van Deinsen along with midfielder Dakarai Baako and goalkeeper Tafadzwa Masamba from Transvaal's UCFA Champions League squads.

NVK Kaapstad Hornets played its first match, a 5-1 win, at Greenpoint Stadium in a friendly against The Scimitars on September 30, 2009; midfielder Regillio Sewnath scored the club's first-ever goal 15 minutes into the first-half.

The club's first league match was on October 7, 2009 when they were shutout 2-0 at home by Nordenstorm United. Three days later the club defeated The Scimitars by the score of 3-0 in the opening round of the Nordreich Cup with midfielder Izmir Jejaz scoring the first official competitive goal in the 26th minute of the match. Four days later the two clubs squared off again in league play and forward Bernie Forbes scored the Hornets' first league goal in the 8th minute on a header cross from fullback Eugene Tchami. =League Record by Season= insert text =Cup Record by Season= insert text =Career Statistics= insert table =Nordreich Liga Season I=
 * EXPANSION ROSTER (September 21, 2008): Glen Autar, Dakarai Baako, Charly Braaf, Anthony Davids, Oskar Dietze, Dean Hankers, Etienne Hindenberg, Jimmy Horb, Benny Juliaans, Tafadzwa Masamba, Winston Plato, Kiran Reiziger, Regillio Sewnath, Dawson Silvin, Nbeko Sokoto, Pius Tsheuma Songo’o, Ricardo van Deinsen, and Chifarat Wouters.
 * ROSTER TRANSACTIONS: Eugene Tchami (junior prospect) signed on September 28, 2009; Harald Heidrich signed ($146,100) as free agent on September 30, 2009; Charly Braaf released September 30, 2009; Izmir Jejaz signed ($263,100) as free agent on October 1, 2009; Jimmy Horb and Kiran Reiziger released October 1, 2009; Mosely Nlend Wome (junior prospect) signed on October 2, 2009; Otto Getzlaf signed ($300,000) as free agent on October 4, 2009; Glen Autar released on October 7, 2009; Bernie Forbes signed ($238,100) as free agent on October 8, 2009; Winston Plato and Regillio Sewnath released October 15, 2009; Jaouad Nasser signed ($595,300) as free agent on October 18, 2009; Sipho Griekwa (junior prospect) signed on October 23, 2009; Etienne Hindenberg and Dawson Silvin released October 24, 2009; Gbeke Tshwonga signed ($299,100) as free agent on October 25, 2009; Ian Smith signed ($595,300) as free agent on October 27, 2009

=Press Releases=

Nordreich Liga Season I
SEPTEMBER 26, 2009 - Transvaal gets third X11 club

Cape Town is home to Transvaal’s newest X11 club as NVK Kaapstad Hornets joins the newly-formed Nordreich Liga. The new club is managed by Bartnel Botha, who also handles operations for the Transvaal Springboks in Liga Mundo and Windhoek Welwitschia of the Vedder League.

On the pitch, the Kaapstad Noordryksevoetbalklub (NVK) will be lead by a trio of familiar faces famous in Transvaler football:

Ricardo van Deisen previously played five seasons in Liga Mundo. One of the greatest forwards to play for Transvaal, Van Deisen retired after the Transvaal Springboks won the Liga Mundo championship in Liga Mundo Season 5 and as the club’s all-time leading scorer. However, when he heard about Mr. Botha’s newest venture to establish the Nordreich Liga, Van Deisen allowed himself to be coaxed out of retirement to help out his old boss.

Dakarai Baako led Transvaal in the UCFA Champions League tournaments but failed to catch on with either Transvaal Springboks or Windhoek Welwitschia. He is now attempting a comeback with Kaapstad and this time around it looks like he will stick as the speedster is currently top of the depth chart on the Hornet's midfield line.

Also from the old UCFA Champions League Springboks squads is goalie legend Tafadzwa Masamba in net. It has been some time since “Taffy” has suited up but is expected to regain his old prowess between posts. One of his duties will be to help train future keepers for the Hornets such as newcomer Oskar Dietze.

The Hornets have two pre-season friendlies scheduled before the season commences. On Wednesday they host The Scimitars and then travel to Nordenstrom United the following Saturday.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009 - Exhibition matches this week

On Wednesday, Nordreich Liga action kicks off when The Scimitars travel to Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town to take on the NVK Kaapstad Hornets in an exhibition match.

While the Hornets have been unsuccessful in acquiring a much needed freekicker off the transfer marker, Manager Homer has had The Scimitars hard at work with player training to prepare for the upcoming match.

Both squads feature fairly decent defensive lines but the Hornets hold an edge in goalkeeping while The Scimitars have a slight edge in the attack. Neither squad looks particularly strong for midfield depth although speedster Dakarai Baako will be key for the Hornets while Alladin Abdul-Sami is the offensive go-to man for The Scimitars.

On Saturday, the Hornets travel to Johann Schmidt Stadium to meet Nordenstorm United in another exhibition tilt. The regular league and Nordreich Cup schedules will be announced on Saturday, October 2nd with play expected to get underway the following Wednesday.

OCTOBER 18, 2009 - Recent signings

During the past three weeks of October, NVK Kaapstad has continued to re-tool their roster with player cuts and signings.

“We were dealt a pretty awful squad during the league expansion draft in September” commented Manager Bartnel Botha, “so it is going to take some time to get this club to anywhere we need to be to become competitive. We could have taken the road which Nordenstrom and Northern Reich have gone with picking up talented veterans in the twilight of their careers, however I’ve always been more focused on building for the future as I wouldn’t want to go through all this again in a few seasons as players started to retire.”

“We acquired two quality juniors from our youth programme, Eugene Tchami and Mosely Nlend Wome. While Wome is more of a project player that will require around three seasons to get into starter shape, Tchami automatically walked on as third or fourth in our defensive depth. To find a junior player that good is a lucky break.”

Recent acquisitions include Jaouad Nasser, Bernie Forbes, and Otto Getzlaf. Nasser is a likely a stopgap player for our weak midfield while the two others are most probably long-term keepers on the roster. Manager Botha did not rule out further changes. “We need to do something to address our impotent offense. Apart from Van Deinsen, we have no one who can provide regular points although Forbes has been performing far above expectations.”

OCTOBER 31, 2009 - Hornets bow out of Nordreich Cup

Despite outplaying Northern Reich for ball possession and bombarding keeper Hillo Maalepp with 9 shots on net, NVK Kaapstad Hornets dropped a 2-1 decision at Greenpoint Stadium and were knocked out of the Nordreich Cup. The match was a repeat result of Northern Reich’s first win in the semi-final round.

Anton Kruuv and Arved Lokko scored for the visitors while Ricardo van Deinsen potted home the lone goal for the Hornets. Goalkeeper Tafadzwa Masamba was lost early to a major injury and a cold Oskar Dietze was unable to deal with Northern Reich’s few offensive chances, allowing in 2 of their 3 attempts. At the other end of the pitch, Reich’s keeper Hillo Maalepp was a wall against the Hornets’ attackers and accumulated an 89% average on saves.

Kaapstad dominated the X11 squad for the second round of cup ties with five player selections however Reich manger St6mm walked away with the manager honours for his impressive performance to advance to the finals despite the apparent odds in today’s match.

The Nordreich Cup finals will feature high-flying Nordenstrom United versus Northern Reich. The first match will take place next Saturday with the final leg on November 14.

=Player Merits= insert text =Youngest and oldest players= =Captains=
 * Youngest: (18) Harald Heidrich (forward) and Mosely Nlend Wome (goalkeeper)
 * Oldest: (31) Ricardo van Deinsen (forward), Anthony Davids (fullback), and Benny Juliaans (fullback)
 * Nordreich Liga Season I - Dean Hankers (midfielder)

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

=See also=
 * Nordreich Liga
 * Transvaal Springboks (Liga Mundo)
 * Windhoek Welwitschia (Vedder League)
 * Transvaal Voetbalsvereniging