Eeshoke Chula Chula FC is a

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in Eeshoke village near

Oshikango Oshikango is a former village in northern Namibia and since 2004 part of the town of Helao Nafidi, although it still maintained its own village council for a number of years. ''Oshikango'' is still the name of the border post with Angola and the ...

in the

Ohangwena Region Ohangwena is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Eenhana. Major settlements in the region are the towns Eenhana and Helao Nafidi as well as the self-governed village of Okongo and the proclaimed settlements Ongha, Ongenga and O ...

which currently plays in the

Namibia Premiership The Namibia Premiership, or the Debmarine Namibia Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of domestic association football in Namibia. It operates under the auspices of the Namibia Football Association. History After ongoi ...

Name

The club's name comes from a Okutyuulwa

war cry A battle cry or war cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religio ...

“To tyuulwa keeshoke” which has been

anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

as "chulachula". The village name Eeshoke derives from a species of tall, sharp grass that is common in the area.

Stadium

Eeshoke Chula Chula FC currently plays its home matches at the 8,000-seat

Oshakati Independence Stadium Oshakati Independence Stadium is a football stadium in Oshakati, Oshana Region, Namibia. Home to Oshakati City F.C. formerly of the Namibia Premier League, Oshakati Independence Stadium can seat 8,000 spectators. It was built over seven years at a ...

until construction of the Eenhana Stadium in the region's capital of

Eenhana Eenhana (, IPA: ) is the capital town of the Ohangwena Region, northern Namibia, on the border with Angola. It also used to be a mission station of the Finnish Missionary Society. It had a population of 16,588 people in 2023. Eenhana is situ ...

is completed.

History

The club formed informally as a small village team in 1995. It entered the Third Division in 1998. By 2001, the club had reached the Ohangwena Second Division. Between 2001 and 2013, the club bounced between the Second and Third Divisions. Chula Chula made a breakthrough in 2013, reaching the final of the Namibia FA Cup, ultimately falling 0–8 to

Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club, referred to as simply Pirates, is a South African professional football club based in Orlando, Soweto that plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as Betway Premiership. The team plays i ...

. The club returned to the First Division in 2018 following an undefeated campaign in the third tier. However, financial problems and the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

caused a long absence of organized football beginning in Namibia prior to the 2019 season. Chula Chula FC were champions of the North-East

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

when organized football returned to Namibia for the 2022/2023 season, earning promotion to the

Namibia Premier Football League The Namibia Premiership, or the Debmarine Namibia Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of domestic association football in Namibia. It operates under the auspices of the Namibia Football Association. History After ongoi ...

for the first time. Because of its popularity as the "people's team", the club signed a three-year sponsorship deal with PstBet worth N$1,8m per year. In September 2023, the club played its first match in the top flight, securing a 2–1 victory over

Mighty Gunners Mighty Gunners is a football club in Otjiwarongo, Namibia. It plays in the Namibia Premier League and in Mokati Stadium.

at its home

. The club reported to have sold 17,275 tickets at the 8,000-seat stadium, a new league attendance record. The previous record of 7,000 spectators had stood since 2013. The club remained undefeated over the first five matches of the season and sat in fourth place in the league table at that point. During that period, Chula Chula drew 1–1 with reigning champions

African Stars The African Stars Football Club are a professional football in Namibia, Namibian football club from Windhoek. They play in the country's highest division, the Namibia Premiership. Achievements *Namibia Premiership **Champions (3): 2022–23 Nami ...

in front of a crowd of 38,000. The club continued to draw large crowds throughout the season. In addition to the club's solid league play that season, Chula Chula went on to win the 9th annual Dr. Hage Geingob Cup, defeating favorites African Stars at

Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...

Independence Stadium Independence Stadium may also refer to: * Independence Stadium (Bakau) in Gambia * Independence Stadium (Namibia) in Windhoek * Independence Stadium (South Africa) in Mthatha, a List of football stadiums in South Africa, football stadium in South A ...

. In the process, Chula Chula became the first club to win the competition during its first participation. Fans voted for the two clubs that participated, choosing Chula Chula and African Stars after the clubs played the exciting 1–1 draw in front of a large crowd earlier that season.

Recent seasons

;Key

References

External links

Official websiteGlobal Sports Archive profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eeshoke Chula Chula FC Football clubs in Namibia Association football clubs established in 1995