It goes without saying that over the years, there were always problems with the start of the league because of unresolved disciplinary cases, teams continuously cry foul at being marginalised in terms of finances to run their affairs and to honour their league obligations.

Teams over the years have also failed to land substantial amounts of money to sustain themselves through credible sponsorships because of the general stingy attitude shown by Namibia's corporate world.

Also, there have been many hiccups in running the game smoothly from the administrative point of view, with many chairmen not attending the required meetings to make key decisions, this largely because most of these gentlemen have outside jobs that pay them better and occupy most of their time.

This Saturday will see the election of possibly yet another chairman for the NPL - that is if the incumbent, Peter van Wyk, is ousted by challenger Hendrik Dawids.

They will be the only two contenders for the post.

In fact, this also shows that there is not much interest from club members to vie for the position because they think it is not worth it due to the money factor.

There is not a lot of money in that position as far as I have gathered, but if the NPL becomes a self-sustaining entity, it will be vital to have a full-time chief executive officer who will take care of the league's operations.

Now, knowing that there is no money for the chairman, that league kick-off dates are not honoured, start-up capital is peanuts, that teams at times decide whether they will play a match or not and the several outstanding DC cases like in the past, it is time for drastic change.

Change is firstly needed in the administration of the NPL within itself as a football authority, despite their affiliation to the Namibia Football Association (NFA).

That change is to break away from the NFA and operate on their own.

Organise your house and be pro-active and not receptive like the current scenario.

This breakaway does also not mean that they should sever ties with Soccer House, but one should strike a difference on who is in charge of what.

At this stage, it looks as if the NPL is headless and is pulled around by the nose by the NFA.

There is no clear direction because the objectives of the NPL are not visible as most of their activities are overshadowed by the NFA.

Go no further than the annual football awards.

Who pulls the strings during cup competitions which involves premier league teams? The list is endless.

I will put it bluntly that whoever is the next chairman of the NPL for the next two years should be a man who needs to address the current basics that are missing in the domestic game.

One of the basic issues among many is that players need to be put first, because without them, there will be no league.

There is a need for this man to solicit enough funding for the league to sustain itself administratively and make sure that teams get a decent slice of the financial cake from the sponsorships.

Clubs have the duty to look for their own sponsors, but the league authorities should help some of these clubs to make themselves more presentable by devising project proposals and putting in place business plans that can attract potential sponsors.

The marketing of the league has to be aggressive so that people start getting an interest in watching the game.

Stadiums are empty weekend after weekend because of poor marketing strategies by the league bosses at present.

Coming up with own publications, websites and using other media will automatically transform the product of football on the domestic front into something to cheer about.

But, before I go any further, let's hear from the two gentlemen what they have up their sleeves on Saturday.

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