Julinho Sporting F.C. (also known as the Rundu Lions) 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 ...

n football club competing in the

Namibia Premier League The Namibia Premier League (NPL) was the highest level of domestic association football in Namibia until it was disbanded following the 2018-19 season. The league was established in 1990 and was trimmed to 12 teams from the traditional 16 in 2005 ...

. The team is based in

Rundu Rundu is the capital and the largest city of the Kavango-East Region in northern Namibia. It lies on the border with Angola on the banks of the Kavango River, about above sea level. Rundu's population is growing rapidly. The 2001 census counted ...

in the

Kavango East Kavango East is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Rundu, its governor is Bonifatius Wakudumo. The region was created in 2013 when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and Kavango West. The only self-governing sett ...

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.

History

Julinho Sporting F.C. was founded in 2002 by brothers Nelson and Norton Luis in Rundu. They named the team after their late father, Julio Luis. The three had previously been involved with a community football club called Cola-Cola Sporting. The club spent nine years in Namibia's Second Division and was originally composed of players from the Maria Mwengere Secondary School. Julinho Sporting won a promotion to the First Division for the 2011–12 season. Julinho Sporting F.C. won the North East First Division in the 2013–14 season after a 2–0 win against Bingo F.C. The victory earned the club a spot in the 2014–15 Namibia Premier League. In their first season, the club earned 9 wins, 5 draws, and 16 losses for a total of 32 points. They finished in 13th place, avoiding relegation by a single point. In the summer of 2015, the club earned a spot in the Dr.

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (3 August 1941 – 4 February 2024) was a Namibian politician who served as the third president of Namibia from 2015 until his death in February 2024. Geingob was the country's first prime minister A prime minister ...

Cup in

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 ...

. The club garnered over 30,000 votes in a public voting competition to become the 4th and final entrant into the tournament. Other clubs in the tournament included Namibia's African Stars F.C.,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional Association football, football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the South African Premiership, Premiership, the fi ...

, and

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

C.D. Primeiro de Agosto Clube Desportivo 1º de Agosto is a multisports club from Luanda, Angola. The club, founded 1 August 1977, is attached to the Angolan armed forces, which is its sponsor. Its main team competes in men's football, and its professional Primeiro de ...

. Julinho Sporting lost to African Stars 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. They would eventually lose the third-place game 1–0 against Primeiro de Agosto. The team earned their first victory of the season against Flamingo F.C. 1–0 on 20 September.

Achievements

*Namibia Second Division: 1 **2012 *Namibia First Division: 1 **2014 (Promotion to Namibia Premier League)

References

External links

Julinho Sporting F.C. on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Julinho Sporting Rundu Football clubs in Namibia Namibia Premier Football League clubs Association football clubs established in 2002 Rundu 2002 establishments in Namibia