THE start of the new football season is still unresolved with the Namibia Football Association’s Normalisation Committee and the Namibia Premier League still far from reaching agreement.
The NPL at its congress on 21 September declared that the new season will start on 1 November, but the contentious issue of whether Civics and Orlando Pirates will be allowed back into the Premier League is still unresolved after the NPL last week decided that it could not make a decision on the matter.
The NPL had adjourned its congress of 21 September to last Thursday to make a ruling on the issue, but none of its 13 members submitted a proposal to amend its constitution to allow the two clubs back.
On Monday, NPL chairman Patrick Kauta sent a letter to the normalisation committee, informing them that the NPL had no power in terms of its constitution to admit the two teams back into the Premier League.
Kauta also again requested the NC to provide the rules for promotion and relegation for the upcoming season, which would ensure that the first and second divisions could commence at the same time as the Premier League.
It requested the NC to submit the rules for promotion by 4 October, saying that time was of the ‘utmost essence.’
The email was also copied to the Fifa representative, Alexander Gros, who is currently in Namibia to assess the progress made by the NC.
Before the congress, the chairperson of the NC, Hilda Basson-Namundjebo, wrote a letter to Kauta, saying that they would provide the rules and methodology for the upcoming season ‘as soon as all inputs from all our members have been considered,’ while she also accused the NPL of dragging it’s feet on the promotion issue.
She once again informed the NPL that the NC had promoted Orlando Pirates and Civics ‘as per the powers bestowed on us’ by the NFA constitution for the upcoming season.
“As things stand, you have not categorically pronounced yourselves in this regard and thus we remain aghast at the lack of responsiveness by the NPL to what is a reasonable request. We hereby request that your office provides us with the specifics requested for. Who are the teams who will participate in the upcoming season?,” she asked.
With less than a month left before the proposed start of the new season and the opposing parties still miles apart, it remains to be seen whether the new season will in fact start on 1 November.
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