Benfica still unsure of playoffs

BENFICA will today inform the Namibia Football Association (NFA) whether they will be part of the planned Namibia Premier League (NPL) promotion playoffs, which start tomorrow.

Benfica has been pitted against KK Palace at the Oscar Norich Stadium in Tsumeb tomorrow in their first match of the round-robin competition. If Benfica pull out of the playoffs, the league might be further delayed as the Tsumeb-based side will possibly submit a protest that will take some time to resolve, which the NFA is avoiding at all costs at this stage.In case their protest is thrown out, they can appeal against it and seek for arbitration, which will see Namibian football moving in a completely backward direction.Benfica, who were supposed to play in the original promotion playoffs, were forced by a decision taken by the NFA to play in the five-team playoffs, and this will see them play at least ten matches before they can be promoted, provided they are successful in their bid.Benfica chairman Lance Hauuanga said a meeting planned for last night had to decide if the team would be involved in the playoffs or not.He said the team initially agreed to play in the first playoffs, but wanted to do this under protest.He said the NFA had warned them not to play under protest, insisting that the playoffs would go on with or without Benfica’s involvement.”Tomorrow [today], we will tell the NFA what our position is regarding our involvement in the playoffs.Initially we want to play, but we have to look at several issues first,” said Hauuanga.He said they wanted to play under protest because they were not happy with the decision taken by the NFA to revive relegated teams, to once again be involved in promotion playoffs.Golden Bees and Benfica initially survived relegation and were only supposed to play in the national playoffs, but an arbitration case which swung in favour of Life Fighters affected Benfica after the NFA decided on a fresh format for the playoffs.The NFA initially planned that Benfica, Life Fighters, KK Palace, Deportivo Alaves and Friends would play in the playoffs to determine two winners, who would then be involved in further playoffs against four regional winners, including Golden Bees.The two winners from those playoffs will be promoted to the NPL, which will be expected to consist of 12 teams as opposed to 16 teams in previous seasons.The second playoffs will involve United Stars, SKW, Touch & Go, Black Morocco Chiefs and the two winners from the first playoffs.The Life Fighters case has delayed the start of the league, which was due in August, while a pre-season tournament by the Humphries Security Division also suffered as a result.Yesterday, the NFA issued the fixtures for the new playoffs, which will mostly be decided in Otjiwarongo.There will be only one match in Windhoek and one in Tsumeb.If Benfica pull out of the playoffs, the league might be further delayed as the Tsumeb-based side will possibly submit a protest that will take some time to resolve, which the NFA is avoiding at all costs at this stage.In case their protest is thrown out, they can appeal against it and seek for arbitration, which will see Namibian football moving in a completely backward direction.Benfica, who were supposed to play in the original promotion playoffs, were forced by a decision taken by the NFA to play in the five-team playoffs, and this will see them play at least ten matches before they can be promoted, provided they are successful in their bid.Benfica chairman Lance Hauuanga said a meeting planned for last night had to decide if the team would be involved in the playoffs or not.He said the team initially agreed to play in the first playoffs, but wanted to do this under protest.He said the NFA had warned them not to play under protest, insisting that the playoffs would go on with or without Benfica’s involvement.”Tomorrow [today], we will tell the NFA what our position is regarding our involvement in the playoffs.Initially we want to play, but we have to look at several issues first,” said Hauuanga.He said they wanted to play under protest because they were not happy with the decision taken by the NFA to revive relegated teams, to once again be involved in promotion playoffs.Golden Bees and Benfica initially survived relegation and were only supposed to play in the national playoffs, but an arbitration case which swung in favour of Life Fighters affected Benfica after the NFA decided on a fresh format for the playoffs.The NFA initially planned that Benfica, Life Fighters, KK Palace, Deportivo Alaves and Friends would play in the playoffs to determine two winners, who would then be involved in further playoffs against four regional winners, including Golden Bees.The two winners from those playoffs will be promoted to the NPL, which will be expected to consist of 12 teams as opposed to 16 teams in previous seasons.The second playoffs will involve United Stars, SKW, Touch & Go, Black Morocco Chiefs and the two winners from the first playoffs.The Life Fighters case has delayed the start of the league, which was due in August, while a pre-season tournament by the Humphries Security Division also suffered as a result.Yesterday, the NFA issued the fixtures for the new playoffs, which will mostly be decided in Otjiwarongo.There will be only one match in Windhoek and one in Tsumeb.