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Lower divisions set to start soon: Kauta
FIRST- and second-division leagues, which are currently in limbo due to financial constraints and have no official kick-off date, will start soon, a football spokesman said yesterday.
Initially, February 7 was set as the kick-off date, but due to the ongoing talks between the Namibia Football Association and various potential sponsors, it will likely only start towards the end of the month.
NFA spokesman Beau Kauta told The Namibian Sport that the Northern and Southern Stream Leagues as well as the second divisions will go into action as soon as sponsorships have been secured.
“I can assure you now that the money will be coming to these leagues. We are at a very advanced stage of bringing sponsorships to these leagues, but I cannot reveal the names of the companies,” he said.
Kauta said companies have shown huge interest in football after the break-up of the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC) late last year.
The NFC which consisted of First National Bank (FNB), Mobile Telecommunication Communication (MTC) and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL), were the biggest football sponsors in the country and differences in their respective responsibilities of allocating funds, led to their dissolution.
Kauta said there is interest from the insurance, mining, petroleum, beverages and telecommunications industries.
Kauta said the companies made proposals to the NFA to sponsor especially the Namibia Premier League (NPL, but since it has already has a N$4,2 million sponsorship from MTC, they asked for them to concentrate on the lower leagues.
“We cannot have strong national teams if we do not support the lower leagues. We need to have strong lower leagues or well-structured development structures for the premiership and the national teams to flourish. So we want some of these companies to invest in the lower leagues as youth and women’s football that also resorts under the NFA,” he said.
He said the teams in the lower divisions should get ready for the season, despite all of them being idle since the premiership started with its activities late last year.
The two streams will have 12 teams each and they will receive their start-up capital days before the league starts, while the second-division outfits will also benefit from the new deal.
– corry@namibian.com.na
