Katima Mulilo-The 18th edition of the popular The Namibian Newspaper Cup kicked off in Katima Mulilo on Thursday. The Namibian Newspaper Cup, which has become a popular platform for many young footballers to launch their careers has turned out to be a crowd favourite among football fans during the Easter weekend. In what has become a tradition, the tournament opening ceremony started with a march by the participating teams from the Zambezi Regional Council office. The teams passed through Hage Geingob Street and concluded at the Katima Mulilo Sports Complex. In his speech the Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service, Erastus Utoni, told the participants that tournaments such as The Namibian Newspaper Cup have created a platform were both the organisers and the particpants can contribute - not only to sport in general but to Nation building as well. The Minister also said that for sport to reach greater heights and be competitive with the rest of the world funding is needed. On his part, the Governor of the host Region, Laurens Sampofu, thanked the organisers to for finally bringing the tournament to his region in organising such an event. The opening day saw a total of nine matches played.