On Namibia's Football Woes
THE main problem with the NFA is that it suffers from an incentive problem.
This is not unusual because virtually all football associations,
particularly in Africa, face inappropriate incentives.
Basically what the NFA does is allocating other peoples'
money.
When the allocation is not put to productive use, and this seems
to be case in Namibia for several years now, no one is punished for
the waste of scarce funds.
In the alternative case, when money is correctly put to
productive use, no one is explicitly rewarded, or at least there is
no guarantee of a reward.
A priori, it appears reasonable to postulate that if, say 90 per
cent of the 'allowances' and salaries of administrators and
coaching staff are output-driven and only payable after a 'best'
result, our situation would be entirely different from the current
one.
This problem seems to be compounded with the apparent
inabilities to measure the benefits accruing from each
allocation.
Consider, for example, our continental ranking, from 1998 to
date.
In December 1998, Namibia was ranked 13th in Africa.
To date, Namibia is classified as a 'Current Loser of the Year'
in Africa by Fifa.
In 2003 alone, Namibia dropped 9 places to 38th for the
country's lowest ever ranking, after suffering 6 losses out of 8
matches played this year and 14 losses from 16 matches since
mid-June 2001.
Namibia's position this year is three times worse than five
years ago! If these ratings are anything to go by, the problem
seems to have gone out of control from 2001 to the present.
The situation is akin to no management at all.
In this state of affairs, potential sponsors see nothing worth
sponsoring.
Sponsorship is not dumping.
That's why the World Bank attaches so many conditions when it
sponsors.
Judged by the quality of output at both domestic and national
levels, the performance of the current NFA is the worst the country
has ever seen.
Fortunately, this poor record of outcomes does not appear to be
due to lack of funds and/or sponsorship.
The multitude of sponsors, particularly Namibia Breweries, are
to be applauded for putting forward their hard-earned money to keep
the game of football going.
It is sad that this money was not put to productive use.
I salute the many individual sponsors in all 13 regions for
engaging local talent.
It is sad to note that fine and world-standard talent goes
unnoticed in our regions.
This is irrespective of the well-functioning school and
community-based structures everywhere in Namibia.
The Government is to be applauded for consistently and almost
single-handedly carrying the financial burden of the national
teams, coaching staff, infrastructure and engaging talent at every
(public) educational institution countrywide.
Virtually all secondary (and primary) schools in Namibia have
active football teams, under a sports organiser, who hails from the
teaching staff.
The best football talent is paraded at this level.
Further, most constituencies in Namibia boast a football team,
sometimes a lot of teams.
This is the widest talent arena an innovative football manager
in a sparsely populated country such as Namibia could imagine.
Every educational region too has a youth officer who is
responsible for sports activities in that region.
The NFA has no reason not to have a robust database of
outstanding talent listed by region.
My contention is that with an organisational structure like
this, the task of talent spotting missions could not be easier.
A lot of money is spent on organising football activities at
school, circuit and community level.
To scoop talent from the grassroots level, therefore, does not
require sponsorship in addition to what is being done now.
There is thus no structural problem of talent-spotting at the
grassroots level.
Innovation is more important than Schools of Excellence and
Soccer Houses that require huge capital outlays.
A lot of money is spent on football countrywide.
There are organised football activities in every corner of
Namibia.
It seems that these structures and their organisers are not
recognised.
For sure, full advantage of this set-up has not been seized.
It is suicidal in today's demanding international football to
introduce abrupt, large-scale changes.
A lot of 'new blood' never works.
Our friendlies against Angola this year demonstrated this fact
beyond doubt.
There is no argument that Namibia has excellent football
potential.
This is despite the fact that selection of players in Namibia is
extremely narrow and pre-dominantly Windhoek-based.
The problem of finding prolific strikers is only due to apathy,
ignorance and lack of drive.
It is an error to think that the domestic league is a fair
reflection of Namibia's potential.
In our situation talent-spotting should go beyond the domestic
league.
There is urgent need to ameliorate the incentive problem.
Feedback from regions and communities has not worked.
Whatever is done is mainly paperwork and bureaucratic
procedures.
Given the incentive problem and inertia of the NFA, nothing is
likely to be done soon.
- Austin Kwenani - Via e-mail
Note: This letter has been shortened
Basically what the NFA does is allocating other peoples' money.
When the allocation is not put to productive use, and this seems to
be case in Namibia for several years now, no one is punished for
the waste of scarce funds. In the alternative case, when money is
correctly put to productive use, no one is explicitly rewarded, or
at least there is no guarantee of a reward. A priori, it appears
reasonable to postulate that if, say 90 per cent of the
'allowances' and salaries of administrators and coaching staff are
output-driven and only payable after a 'best' result, our situation
would be entirely different from the current one. This problem
seems to be compounded with the apparent inabilities to measure the
benefits accruing from each allocation. Consider, for example, our
continental ranking, from 1998 to date. In December 1998, Namibia
was ranked 13th in Africa. To date, Namibia is classified as a
'Current Loser of the Year' in Africa by Fifa.In 2003 alone,
Namibia dropped 9 places to 38th for the country's lowest ever
ranking, after suffering 6 losses out of 8 matches played this year
and 14 losses from 16 matches since mid-June 2001. Namibia's
position this year is three times worse than five years ago! If
these ratings are anything to go by, the problem seems to have gone
out of control from 2001 to the present. The situation is akin to
no management at all. In this state of affairs, potential sponsors
see nothing worth sponsoring. Sponsorship is not dumping. That's
why the World Bank attaches so many conditions when it sponsors.
Judged by the quality of output at both domestic and national
levels, the performance of the current NFA is the worst the country
has ever seen. Fortunately, this poor record of outcomes does not
appear to be due to lack of funds and/or sponsorship. The multitude
of sponsors, particularly Namibia Breweries, are to be applauded
for putting forward their hard-earned money to keep the game of
football going. It is sad that this money was not put to productive
use. I salute the many individual sponsors in all 13 regions for
engaging local talent. It is sad to note that fine and
world-standard talent goes unnoticed in our regions. This is
irrespective of the well-functioning school and community-based
structures everywhere in Namibia. The Government is to be applauded
for consistently and almost single-handedly carrying the financial
burden of the national teams, coaching staff, infrastructure and
engaging talent at every (public) educational institution
countrywide. Virtually all secondary (and primary) schools in
Namibia have active football teams, under a sports organiser, who
hails from the teaching staff. The best football talent is paraded
at this level. Further, most constituencies in Namibia boast a
football team, sometimes a lot of teams. This is the widest talent
arena an innovative football manager in a sparsely populated
country such as Namibia could imagine. Every educational region too
has a youth officer who is responsible for sports activities in
that region. The NFA has no reason not to have a robust database of
outstanding talent listed by region. My contention is that with an
organisational structure like this, the task of talent spotting
missions could not be easier. A lot of money is spent on organising
football activities at school, circuit and community level. To
scoop talent from the grassroots level, therefore, does not require
sponsorship in addition to what is being done now. There is thus no
structural problem of talent-spotting at the grassroots level.
Innovation is more important than Schools of Excellence and Soccer
Houses that require huge capital outlays. A lot of money is spent
on football countrywide. There are organised football activities in
every corner of Namibia. It seems that these structures and their
organisers are not recognised. For sure, full advantage of this
set-up has not been seized. It is suicidal in today's demanding
international football to introduce abrupt, large-scale changes. A
lot of 'new blood' never works. Our friendlies against Angola this
year demonstrated this fact beyond doubt. There is no argument that
Namibia has excellent football potential. This is despite the fact
that selection of players in Namibia is extremely narrow and
pre-dominantly Windhoek-based. The problem of finding prolific
strikers is only due to apathy, ignorance and lack of drive. It is
an error to think that the domestic league is a fair reflection of
Namibia's potential. In our situation talent-spotting should go
beyond the domestic league. There is urgent need to ameliorate the
incentive problem. Feedback from regions and communities has not
worked. Whatever is done is mainly paperwork and bureaucratic
procedures. Given the incentive problem and inertia of the NFA,
nothing is likely to be done soon.- Austin Kwenani - Via e-mail
Note: This letter has been shortened