The Namibia Fistball Association (NFA) will wrap up the Namibian fistball league championship this weekend at the Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) Fistball Arena. The first matches of the Bank Windhoek Playoffs will kick off on Friday, 20 October at 18:00, where the Under 11 and 14 will determine their tournament winners. On Saturday, 21 October 2023, the National League, A, B and Under 18, will start the tournament from 8:00 in the morning.
New playoff format
The new playoff format adopted at the 2022 annual general meeting will be enacted for the first time this year. In the National A League, all points earned were halved. All four teams play against each other in a round-robin scenario and will get three points for a win and one point for a draw, which is then added to the halved points. These encounters are played according to two halves of nine minutes each. The team leading the table after three games plays against the fourth-placed team in the semi-final. The second-placed side plays against the third-placed team. The semi-finals, the battle for third place, and the final will be played best out of five sets.
Defending champions Cohen Fistball Club (CFC 1) and SKW 1 each need four points to secure their place in the first and second spots on the table, respectively. If they win against runner-up CFC 2, Swakopmund Fistball Club (SFC) could count on a semi-final encounter against the second-placed team. This match promises much excitement because only five weeks ago, the young coastal squad with four players achieved their first victory in the league against SKW 1 in two decades. SKW 1 did not qualify for the National A League final for the first time last year since the playoffs were introduced in 2011. However, they managed to be victorious in the National B League. Also known as the Green-Whites, SKW will be ambitious to be in the A-League final again this year.
In the National B League, SKW 2, SFC 2 and SKW 4 have already qualified for the semi-finals. All three teams play against each other for a better position on the log. All teams are separated by two points only. The teams ranked fourth to seventh also play against each other in a round-robin, ultimately finishing fourth to play against the first-place team in the semi-finals. Except for SKW 5, every team still can win the National B League.
In the Under category, the reigning champions, SKW A, play against their club mates SKW 3 in the first semi-final. SFC A and SKW B meet in the second semi-final. A prize-giving ceremony will take place after the match day.
In the meantime, Chile was selected to host the Under 18 World Championships in 2024. The Fistball Association of Namibia strives to send a male and female delegation for participation.
End.
