From the side line

LIFE FIGHTERS and Benfica learned a hard lesson when they denied themselves a possible place in the premiership by not grabbing the opportunity offered by the football authorities.

The officials of these teams must be kicking themselves for the biggest mistake they have made in the history of their teams and this has of course put off their supporters. Life Fighters must be the biggest losers, as they simply boycotted the promotion playoffs and as a result lost out on a place in the league.The team has largely been responsible for delaying the start of the league after their arbitration case against the Namibia Premier League (NPL) took almost four months to be completed.What good has it done them, one may ask.Life Fighters, who stood on the brink of relegation anyway, fought so hard to sway the arbitration case in their favour, but this was truly just a waste of time and energy.The team officials spent thousands of dollars on lawyers to fight their case, but then they just threw their chances of possibly staying in the top league out of the window.The battle was already half-won when arbitrator Deon Obbes ruled that Life Fighters were not treated fairly and that the Namibia Football Association (NFA) should do something to rectify that.The NFA did all a favour by calling two rounds of promotion playoffs, and even brought to life three other relegated teams to play in the matches.This decision was, however, not welcomed by all the teams.With Life Fighters being experts in exploiting the loopholes in the system, they opted to stay out and now they will have to wait until next season to vie for a place in the elite league again.Rehoboth side Friends, on the other hand, grabbed the opportunity and have advanced to the second-round playoffs.Benfica lost the fight fairly as they could not make it far in the playoffs and they need not to blame anyone for their poor form on the field of play.But Life Fighters seem to have forgotten that the NFA’s decision was declared “binding and irreversible” by the arbitrator.The repercussions are that their players will now flock to other premiership teams – some have aspirations to play for the national side, while others simply want to join other teams because of Life Fighters’ poor record.The fans are also affected, as they won’t cheer on their team at their beloved Mokati Stadium in Otjiwarongo anymore.They might defect to the team that will now turn out in the Northern Stream First Division.The management or the officials who decided to boycott the playoffs seriously failed the team and they deserve to get the boot.The club’s supporters should convene an urgent meeting and call for the heads of these men to roll.Life Fighters supporters are passionate about their team and their dreams of ever seeing it capturing a league title are down the drain, all due to individuals who think they are bigger than the game.Namibian teams have a tendency of challenging rules and regulations, which sometimes turn in their favour, but at times it can be fatal.Ask Life Fighters.Although the NFA has erred on several occasions in applying the rules of the game properly, they have also tried their best to reach compromises and rectify problems.Although the NFA does not admit easily to its mistakes, the football authorities have so far done justice to the game.In a league that has not even turned semi-professional, Namibian football has been dogged by various complaints over the years.These cases mostly occur at the end of the year, especially during or after the promotion playoffs, and this often leads to the delay of the new season.Team officials should be responsible enough to follow the rulebook and the authorities should in turn apply the rules correctly.After the completion of this weekend’s matches in Otjiwarongo, Damaseb and his men’s sleepless nights will be a thing of the past, for now at least.Life Fighters must be the biggest losers, as they simply boycotted the promotion playoffs and as a result lost out on a place in the league.The team has largely been responsible for delaying the start of the league after their arbitration case against the Namibia Premier League (NPL) took almost four months to be completed.What good has it done them, one may ask.Life Fighters, who stood on the brink of relegation anyway, fought so hard to sway the arbitration case in their favour, but this was truly just a waste of time and energy.The team officials spent thousands of dollars on lawyers to fight their case, but then they just threw their chances of possibly staying in the top league out of the window.The battle was already half-won when arbitrator Deon Obbes ruled that Life Fighters were not treated fairly and that the Namibia Football Association (NFA) should do something to rectify that.The NFA did all a favour by calling two rounds of promotion playoffs, and even brought to life three other relegated teams to play in the matches.This decision was, however, not welcomed by all the teams.With Life Fighters being experts in exploiting the loopholes in the system, they opted to stay out and now they will have to wait until next season to vie for a place in the elite league again.Rehoboth side Friends, on the other hand, grabbed the opportunity and have advanced to the second-round playoffs.Benfica lost the fight fairly as they could not make it far in the playoffs and they need not to blame anyone for their poor form on the field of play.But Life Fighters seem to have forgotten that the NFA’s decision was declared “binding and irreversible” by the arbitrator.The repercussions are that their players will now flock to other premiership teams – some have aspirations to play for the national side, while others simply want to join other teams because of Life Fighters’ poor record.The fans are also affected, as they won’t cheer on their team at their beloved Mokati Stadium in Otjiwarongo anymore.They might defect to the team that will now turn out in the Northern Stream First Division.The management or the officials who decided to boycott the playoffs seriously failed the team and they deserve to get the boot.The club’s supporters should convene an urgent meeting and call for the heads of these men to roll.Life Fighters supporters are passionate about their team and their dreams of ever seeing it capturing a league title are down the drain, all due to individuals who think they are bigger than the game.Namibian teams have a tendency of challenging rules and regulations, which sometimes turn in their favour, but at times it can be fatal.Ask Life Fighters.Although the NFA has erred on several occasions in applying the rules of the game properly, they have also tried their best to reach compromises and rectify problems.Although the NFA does not admit easily to its mistakes, the football authorities have so far done justice to the game.In a league that has not even turned semi-professional, Namibian football has been dogged by various complaints over the years.These cases mostly occur at the end of the year, especially during or after the promotion playoffs, and this often leads to the delay of the new season.Team officials should be responsible enough to follow the rulebook and the authorities should in turn apply the rules correctly.After the completion of this weekend’s matches in Otjiwarongo, Damaseb and his men’s sleepless nights will be a thing of the past, for now at least.