NAMIBIA'S second-tier football league is laden with gems, according to Southern Stream First Division (SSFD) chairman Kenneth Gaoseb.

Gaoseb, who was re-elected on Saturday to head the SSFD for a second term, said while the first division produces the bulk of junior national team players, there are many others who can make it to the Brave Warriors setup.

He added that evidence of the first division's strength could be found in the weekend's Bidvest Namibia Cup results.

Gaoseb pointed to the close scoring margins in matches involving Premier League and First Division sides as a marker of how much the lower league has improved over the years.

"There are some players with potential who can contribute to the success of the (senior) national team. It would be good to select players from the first division for the national team," Gaoseb told The Namibian Sport.

"The preliminaries of the Cup showed there is quality in the first division. It was good for the first division that teams like Hotspurs and United Stars beat teams in the premier league. It shows that the level of competition has gone up."

AGM SUCCESS

On Saturday, Gaoseb and his deputy Murs Markus were re-elected to lead the SSFD Executive Committee for another four years.

Harry Jahs was the only other face from the old executive to be re-elected. He remained on the additional member list - which now also includes Jaqueline Naobes, Eddy Angula, Evaristus Evaristus, Arnold Doeseb, Dawid van Staden and Gideon Maletzky.

Gaoseb said his newly assembled team would be tasked to help improve the level of professionalism of the SSFD.

"I foresee a very productive season for the first division and we hope to be able to meet our set objectives, Gaoseb said.

The Southern Stream is expected to finally kick-off its 2013/14 campaign this weekend.

"The issue of money has been settled. We have already received commitment from MTC and the NFA with regard to the funding of the league. The people have been starved of action for a long time. We are ready to start with the season," he said.