Fifa inspector ‘in hot water’

SPORTS Minister John Mutorwa said comments made recently by a Fifa inspector regarding the condition of Namibia’s two major football stadiums, has landed the inspector in trouble with the world football governing body.

Mutorwa, speaking in parliament during debate on his ministry’s national budget allocation on Tuesday, was answering a question raised by fellow Swapo MP Uutoni Nujoma. Nujoma had inquired into media reports which quoted the Fifa official, Bolaji Ojo-Oba saying that the Sam Nujoma Stadium and the Independence Stadium, both in Windhoek, were unfit to host qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup.Both stadiums, according to Ojo-Oba were “terribly below standard”, and needed a lot of work done in terms of revamping if the national football federation held any hope of utilising them for the qualifying matches scheduled for next year.Nujoma said that he could not understand how Fifa would declare the stadiums unfit despite all the money and work that has gone into them over the years.”Honestly, I’ve been to other countries where I’ve seen stadiums look even worse, but those are just fine.So how can this be?”, Nujoma asked.Mutorwa answered that in a meeting he had with a delegation from Fifa on Monday, he raised the same issue and was assured that the inspector’s views were not that of Fifa.”Apparently, the gentleman who inspected our fields did not do a proper job.He apparently didn’t even look at the fields properly and failed to do a proper investigation.He just went to the media and started talking about how bad the stadiums are.”He added that Fifa had promised to take further action against Ojo-Oba for his alleged unprofessional behaviour.The news was greeted to cheers from parliamentarians.The Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture is requesting N$205.9 million from the ministry of finance for its activities during this financial year.Meanwhile, Mutorwa stated that at least N$49 million would be needed for sport vote for the current financial year, an amount which is distributed among the various sport codes for development as well as upgrading and building of sport facilities.At this stage, football is the biggest beneficiary from the sport vote as it is guaranteed N$3 million each year.Most of the money from government is invested into the various national teams, which mainly covers their participation in international competitions.Fifa also pumps in an annual amount of N$1,7 million into the coffers of the domestic football governing body, which is primarily meant for the development of the game in accordance with the development plans of Fifa for the game.Football also receives an annual N$8 million sponsorship from a consortium of companies which is aimed at funding leagues and hosting competitions.This year, Fifa has been instrumental in assisting Namibia in the coaching of coaches, referees and administrators through their many courses that are offered for the improvement of the game.Government pumps in millions into the Namibian Sports Commission (NSC), the Tertiary Institutions of Sports Associations in Namibia (TISAN), Namibia National Schools Sports Union (NSSU) and the Namibia Women in Sport (NAWISA).It is not known how much money is channelled to the four organisations on an annual basis.Apart from the NSC, which oversees the operations of the sporting bodies and associations, the other three bodies which receive direct funding from Government, have not shown their maximum input into the development of sport in general.The NSC is also responsible for distributing funds to different sport codes for international competitions, while it also monitors the financial status of codes, as they are required to submit audited financial reports according to the Sports Act of 2003 to the commission.Mutorwa said through the participation of various national teams in international games, the image of the country is enhanced.Nujoma had inquired into media reports which quoted the Fifa official, Bolaji Ojo-Oba saying that the Sam Nujoma Stadium and the Independence Stadium, both in Windhoek, were unfit to host qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup.Both stadiums, according to Ojo-Oba were “terribly below standard”, and needed a lot of work done in terms of revamping if the national football federation held any hope of utilising them for the qualifying matches scheduled for next year. Nujoma said that he could not understand how Fifa would declare the stadiums unfit despite all the money and work that has gone into them over the years.”Honestly, I’ve been to other countries where I’ve seen stadiums look even worse, but those are just fine.So how can this be?”, Nujoma asked.Mutorwa answered that in a meeting he had with a delegation from Fifa on Monday, he raised the same issue and was assured that the inspector’s views were not that of Fifa.”Apparently, the gentleman who inspected our fields did not do a proper job.He apparently didn’t even look at the fields properly and failed to do a proper investigation.He just went to the media and started talking about how bad the stadiums are.”He added that Fifa had promised to take further action against Ojo-Oba for his alleged unprofessional behaviour.The news was greeted to cheers from parliamentarians.The Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture is requesting N$205.9 million from the ministry of finance for its activities during this financial year.Meanwhile, Mutorwa stated that at least N$49 million would be needed for sport vote for the current financial year, an amount which is distributed among the various sport codes for development as well as upgrading and building of sport facilities.At this stage, football is the biggest beneficiary from the sport vote as it is guaranteed N$3 million each year.Most of the money from government is invested into the various national teams, which mainly covers their participation in international competitions.Fifa also pumps in an annual amount of N$1,7 million into the coffers of the domestic football governing body, which is primarily meant for the development of the game in accordance with the development plans of Fifa for the game.Football also receives an annual N$8 million sponsorship from a consortium of companies which is aimed at funding leagues and hosting competitions.This year, Fifa has been instrumental in assisting Namibia in the coaching of coaches, referees and administrators through their many courses that are offered for the improvement of the game.Government pumps in millions into the Namibian Sports Commission (NSC), the Tertiary Institutions of Sports Associations in Namibia (TISAN), Namibia National Schools Sports Union (NSSU) and the Namibia Women in Sport (NAWISA).It is not known how much money is channelled to the four organisations on an annual basis.Apart from the NSC, which oversees the operations of the sporting bodies and associations, the other three bodies which receive direct funding from Government, have not shown their maximum input into the development of sport in general.The NSC is also responsible for distributing funds to different sport codes for international competitions, while it also monitors the financial status of codes, as they are required to submit audited financial reports according to the Sports Act of 2003 to the commission.Mutorwa said through the participation of various national teams in international games, the image of the country is enhanced.