 | |||
| Full name | Life Fighters Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Okahirona | ||
| Founded | 1964 | ||
| Ground | Mokati Stadium, Otjiwarongo | ||
| Capacity | 1,000 | ||
| Chairman | Anton Kake | ||
| League | Namibia Premier Football League | ||
| 2018–19 | 5th | ||
Life Fighters F.C. is a Namibian professional football team based in Otjiwarongo. Nicknamed Okahirona, it competes in the Namibia Premier Football League and is one of the oldest teams in the country. [1]
The club was founded in 1964, the same year as Black Africa and Eleven Arrows, by a young group led by local grocery store owner Emil Kuhanga. [2] It organized exhibitions in the absence of a league structure and hosted the Ovaherero knockout tournament for the Herero-speaking teams of the region, [2] and developed a fierce rivalry with African Stars. [3] It played its first season in the new Namibia Premier League in 1987 but were relegated after only a few seasons. [2]
After returning to the top tier, the Life Fighters played in the finals of the Namibia FA Cup in 2000 and 2004, losing each time. Still, it was a great achievement for the team managed by former player Eliah Tjazerua. [3] The 2004–05 Premier League season saw them finish 15th out of 16 teams. The league had earlier made the decision to award them a 0-2 loss in Round 20 against United Africa Tigers for a "lack of security personnel," [4] and their appeal for arbitration was dismissed by the Namibia Football Association Appeals Committee. [5] After months of deliberation the league announced that the 12th through 16th placed teams were to play in a qualifying playoff to determine who would play in the actual promotion/relegation playoff. [4] Nevertheless, they refused to participate and were automatically relegated after the games were played without them. [4] [6]
The Life Fighters spent the following decade in the second and third tiers of the national league system, but diehard supporter Anton Kake took over as chairman and invested his own money to save his childhood club. [2] Under his leadership they eventually secured promotion to the top tier at the end of the 2015–16 season with four matches left. [2] [7] There was no season held the next year, although they did play in the 2017 FA Cup. [8] The team made its long-awaited return to the Premier League in 2017–18, finishing in tenth place. At the midway point the following season, they stood in third place with only three losses, and 21-year-old striker Isaskar Gurirab earned a call-up to the Namibia national team by manager Ricardo Mannetti. [9]
| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Domestic Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 1st | 1/8 finals [n 1] | ||||||||
| 1988 | 1st | 14 | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 29 | 56 | 23 [n 2] | 1/16 finals [n 3] |
| 1989 | 1st | 11 | ||||||||
| 1990 | 1st | 1/16 finals | ||||||||
| 1991/92 | ? | |||||||||
| 1993 | 2nd | 8 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 33 | 37 | 14 | |
| 1994 | 2nd | 1/16 finals | ||||||||
| 1995 | 1st | |||||||||
| 1996 | 1st | |||||||||
| 1997–98 | 1st | 8 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 32 | 35 | 28 | |
| 2000 | 1st | 10 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 40 | 43 | 34 | Runner-up |
| 2001–02 | 1st | |||||||||
| 2002–03 | 1st | |||||||||
| 2003–04 | 1st | 14 | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 50 | 71 | 29 | Runner-up |
| 2004–05 | 1st | 15 [n 4] | 30 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 35 | 55 | 26 | 1/8 finals |
| 2005–06 | 2nd | 1/16 finals | ||||||||
| 2006–07 | 2nd | |||||||||
| 2007–08 | 2nd | 11 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 13 | |||
| 2008–09 | 2nd | 1/16 finals | ||||||||
| 2009–10 | 3rd | |||||||||
| 2010/14 | ? | |||||||||
| 2014–15 | 2nd | 6 | 29 | 1/8 finals | ||||||
| 2015–16 | 2nd | |||||||||
| 2016–17 | 1st | not held | 1/8 finals | |||||||
| 2017–18 | 1st | 10 | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 28 | 39 | 37 | 1/16 finals |
| 2018–19 | 1st | 5 | 28 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 45 | 43 | 41 | |
| 2019–20 | 1st | not held |
Below are the notable former players who have represented Life Fighters in the Namibia Premier League and international competition since the club's foundation in 1964. To appear in the section below, a player must have represented his country's national team either while playing for Life Fighters or after departing the club.
Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the EFL League Two, the fourth tier of English football, following relegation from the 2022–23 EFL League One. They have spent their complete history playing at the Crown Ground. The club came to national prominence in 1989 due to the Milk Marketing Board's popular television advert that featured the slogan Accrington Stanley, Who Are They?
The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system.
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home matches at Adams Park, located on the western outskirts of High Wycombe.
Hampton & Richmond Borough Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in the suburb of Hampton, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. They were founded in 1921 and formerly known as Hampton FC until 1999 when they changed their name in an attempt to draw a wider support base from around the borough. As of the 2021–22 season, they compete in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football.
Weston-super-Mare Association Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England. Nicknamed "The Seagulls", the club is affiliated to the Somerset County Football Association and are competing in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football.
Skelmersdale United Football Club is a football club from Skelmersdale, Lancashire. They are currently members of the North West Counties League Premier Division and play at The Community Ground, Burscough. The club is a member of both the Liverpool County Football Association and the Lancashire County Football Association.
The 1997–98 season was the 118th season of competitive football in England.
The Malaysia Premier League was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. The league replaced the former second-tier league, Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system.
Sydney Convinus Plaatjies is a Namibian former footballer who played as a midfielder. He played club football for Refugees FC, Blue Waters, Jomo Cosmos, Mamelodi Sundowns, Moroka Swallows, Kabuscorp, Mpumalanga Black Aces, Đồng Tháp and Blue Boys and international football for the Namibia national football team, where he was part of the Namibia squad for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.
Athiel Mbaha is a Namibian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for the Namibia national football team. He also played for Namibian sides African Stars, Blue Waters, Orlando Pirates, Ramblers and United Africa Tigers and South African sides Black Leopards and Maritzburg United. A member of the Namibia national football team, Mbaha competed at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, playing against Ghana and Guinea, and was capped 36 times by Namibia. Mbaha has been deaf since the age of seven. He also plays chess.
Chris Katjiukua is a Namibian professional footballer who played as a defender for several South African clubs and the Namibia national football team. He has played for Eleven Arrows and African Stars in Namibia, and Lamontville Golden Arrows, Highlands Park and Black Leopards in South Africa—before finishing with a gameless stint at Cape Town Spurs.
The Hong Kong Premier League is a Hong Kong professional football league organised by the Football Association of Hong Kong, China. It is currently sponsored by BOC Life and officially known as BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League. The inaugural season began in September 2014. It is the top-division football league in Hong Kong.
For association football in Botswana, the Botswana First Division South is the second-tier professional football league in Botswana. Founded in 1966 after Botswana was granted independence, it is administered by the Botswana Football Association and features teams from the southern part of the country.
League1 Ontario is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association as a pro-am league in the Canadian soccer league system.
Julinho Sporting F.C. is a Namibian football club competing in the Namibia Premier League. The team is based in Rundu in the Kavango East region. The team earned a promotion to the 2014–15 Namibia Premier League after winning the 2013–14 North East First Division title. In their first season in the Premier League, the team placed 13th.
Sarawak United Football Club is a Malaysian professional football club based in Sarawak, Malaysia. The club currently play in the Malaysia M3 League the second level football league of the Malaysian football league system. The club didn't compete in the 2023 Malaysia Super League due to failed licensing appeal.
The 2019–20 Dhivehi Premier League was the fifth season of the Dhivehi Premier League, the top-tier football league in the Maldives. The season started on 14 June 2019. TC Sports are the defending champions.
Isaskar Gurirab is a Namibian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Blue Waters fc since august 2023. He Scored in his first match since returning to the country from Orapa united in the Botswana premiere league.
Itamunua Maverinjono Keimuine is a Namibian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Dire Dawa City in the Ethiopian Premier League and for the Namibia national football team.
Bobby Samaria is a Namibian football manager and former player who manages Namibia.
