Fifa reacts on NFA squabbles

THE Namibia Football Association (NFA) has been given an ultimatum to put its house in order by October 31 this year.

A report by Fifa, after investigations into the affairs of the troubled association, proposed that a road map, including several key aspects, be fully implemented by October 31. The most pertinent point is that the NFA should ensure that elections are held in all 13 regions (which results in the NFA Ordinary Congress), the Namibia Premier League (NPL) as well as the two first division zones.This means that all the elections must take place before the date specified.The response by Fifa was prompted after squabbles erupted about a month ago over who should be in charge of football, after former NFA president Petrus Damaseb stepped down.After Damaseb’s departure a congress, scheduled to elect a new president, was derailed after an interim committee forced itself into running the game.This they said was legal, but the NFA did not bow to the pressure.The interim committee, headed by Hendrik Dawids, claimed that football was heading in the wrong direction and wanted changes in terms of the leadership, while questions of tribalism were also raised.Fifa was alerted to the situation and delegated its Botswana-based development officer Asford Mamelodi to investigate.He held talks with government, the sponsors, clubs and various stakeholders in the game and promised to lodge a report within 14 days.The report reached the office of the acting NFA president John Muinjo on Wednesday.In it Fifa also proposed that the calendar for the elections should be set in way that would enable the world football body to supervise them.The organisation of the elections of the NFA president and the entire NFA executive committee will be under the supervision of Fifa and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the report said.It also stated that a Constitutional Review should be “opened immediately after the national elections to strengthen the current statues, to enlarge the representation of Namibian football stakeholders (such as clubs, womenŽs football, coaches or player associations) in the NFA Congress.”This will aim to reinforce the unifying role football can play within the countryš, it said.The report, signed by Jerome Champagne, who was delegated by Fifa president Sepp Blatter, said this process over a limited period of three months after October 31, would lead to an Extraordinary Congress to ratify the new statues.Also, immediately after the national elections, there will be increased co-operation between Fifa and the NFA in terms of guidance for administering the executive committee, the secretariat and the NPL, as well as the regional structures and also in terms of development programmes, it said.Champagne instructed that the road map should be implemented as soon as possible to prevent the current crisis from worsening and making the necessary reconciliation of the Namibian football community impossible or more difficult to achieve.Mamelodi will, according to Champagne, visit the country at the beginning of August to explain to the Namibian football community, the stakeholders, the Namibia Football Consortium and Government authorities its proposal and vision to rebuild the NFA as well as to define the exact time line for the road map.Further, Champagne stressed that the current crisis is a severe one which cannot be solved with a quick-fix solution, but should be used as an opportunity to revamp the structures of the whole pyramid and re-legitimise all the echelons, referring to the entire structure of the NFA.Namibia was affiliated to Fifa in 1990, but according to the world soccer body, has been marred by leadership problems and tribal issues.Fifa also pointed out that hosting the 2010 World Cup in South Africa constitutes a historical window of opportunity for Namibian football, both in terms of local development and internationally considering the geographical proximity to South Africa for the pre-tournament phase.The report said the Brave Warriors’ first qualification to the 1998 African Nations Cup in Burkina Faso and the good results obtained there, were a milestone in the history of Namibian football but did not serve as a long term platform for further success in regional, continental and world cup competitions.The most pertinent point is that the NFA should ensure that elections are held in all 13 regions (which results in the NFA Ordinary Congress), the Namibia Premier League (NPL) as well as the two first division zones.This means that all the elections must take place before the date specified.The response by Fifa was prompted after squabbles erupted about a month ago over who should be in charge of football, after former NFA president Petrus Damaseb stepped down.After Damaseb’s departure a congress, scheduled to elect a new president, was derailed after an interim committee forced itself into running the game.This they said was legal, but the NFA did not bow to the pressure.The interim committee, headed by Hendrik Dawids, claimed that football was heading in the wrong direction and wanted changes in terms of the leadership, while questions of tribalism were also raised.Fifa was alerted to the situation and delegated its Botswana-based development officer Asford Mamelodi to investigate.He held talks with government, the sponsors, clubs and various stakeholders in the game and promised to lodge a report within 14 days.The report reached the office of the acting NFA president John Muinjo on Wednesday.In it Fifa also proposed that the calendar for the elections should be set in way that would enable the world football body to supervise them.The organisation of the elections of the NFA president and the entire NFA executive committee will be under the supervision of Fifa and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the report said.It also stated that a Constitutional Review should be “opened immediately after the national elections to strengthen the current statues, to enlarge the representation of Namibian football stakeholders (such as clubs, womenŽs football, coaches or player associations) in the NFA Congress.”This will aim to reinforce the unifying role football can play within the countryš, it said.The report, signed by Jerome Champagne, who was delegated by Fifa president Sepp Blatter, said this process over a limited period of three months after October 31, would lead to an Extraordinary Congress to ratify the new statues.Also, immediately after the national elections, there will be increased co-operation between Fifa and the NFA in terms of guidance for administering the executive committee, the secretariat and the NPL, as well as the regional structures and also in terms of development programmes, it said.Champagne instructed that the road map should be implemented as soon as possible to prevent the current crisis from worsening and making the necessary reconciliation of the Namibian football community impossible or more difficult to achieve.Mamelodi will, according to Champagne, visit the country at the beginning of August to explain to the Namibian football community, the stakeholders, the Namibia Football Consortium and Government authorities its proposal and vision to rebuild the NFA as well as to define the exact time line for the road map.Further, Champagne stressed that the current crisis is a severe one which cannot be solved with a quick-fix solution, but should be used as an opportunity to revamp the structures of the whole pyramid and re-legitimise all the echelons, referring to the entire structure of the NFA.Namibia was affiliated to Fifa in 1990, but according to the world soccer body, has been marred by leadership problems and tribal issues.Fifa also pointed out that hosting the 2010 World Cup in South Africa constitutes a historical window of opportunity for Namibian football, both in terms of local development and internationally considering the geographical proximity to South Africa for the pre-tournament phase.The report said the Brave Warriors’ first qualification to the 1998 African Nations Cup in Burkina Faso and the good results obtained there, were a milestone in the history of Namibian football but did not serve as a long term platform for further success in regional, continental and world cup competitions.