From The Sidelines

THE state of football is becoming more and more chaotic, with teams threatening to challenge the Namibia Football Association (NFA) legally, as the authorities are accused of unfair and inconsistent decision-making.

It seems that the call by NFA president Petrus Damaseb that it was time to deliver, holds no water and is rather meaningless to teams such as Life Fighters and Benfica, who are challenging the authority of the association. Damaseb, with a broad smile on his face, promised that there wouldn’t be any excuses from the NFA, as they intend to bring football back on track.”We must deliver,” he said in front of key business and political figures before he received the N$40 million sponsorship cheque from the Namibia Football Consortium.This he also said live on national television.This will sadly not become a reality soon, but is a slap in the face of many who thought that football will be taken to new heights as a lot of money has been invested in the game.Mind the sponsors in this regard.Well, Damaseb then also said that he has never had sleepless nights about Namibian football, as he was convinced that everything was right on track.”Football will start soon,” he said.That statement is in direct contradiction with the current state of affairs in the game.How soon is soon? First it was on October 21, now the date has been shifted to November 5.It will not be surprising if all football activities are put on hold because of these ongoing squabbles.Further, Damaseb said that the NFA will respect the commercial interest of the sponsors, and knowing that they are responsible corporate citizens, they are not in there for charity.Now, the interests of the sponsors are not only to benefit commercially through their investment, but they genuinely want to be associated with the biggest and most progressive sport in the country.Football in the past few years has rapidly been moving away from that status and it only remains to be seen how the association can convince the consortium that they mean business and the three companies will get value for their money.The consortium consists of Mobile Telecommunications Limited, First National Bank (FNB) and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL).They have invested N$40 million in football for the next five years, with an estimated N$8 million to be pumped into the game on a yearly basis.Well, although the NFA insists that it will push ahead with the premier league playoffs, Life Fighters and Benfica argue that they were treated unfairly when it decided to involve them in a first round of playoffs.While the first round of playoffs got underway on Wednesday night, the NFA will now have handle the consequences of its actions, as Life Fighters and Benfica want to challenge the body in court.The whole situation has become an embarrassment for the NFA as teams detected loopholes after the association announced that there should be two rounds of playoffs before two teams are promoted to the premiership.These loopholes unfortunately have serious repercussions for the advancement of the game on the premier league level.The NFA has failed to demonstrate its power by not allowing any team to come out as rebels against their decisions.Despite their threats that the decisions they have taken are “final, irreversible and binding”, these teams are still pushing for their voices to be heard.No matter what happens after the playoffs, Namibian football authorities will have no choice but to deal with the lawyers of these teams and this means that the game will be stuck in its tracks…just where it is now.It is a shame that the domestic league has not started yet.This has actually put a lot of pressure on the budgets of premiership teams that are paying their players.At the moment, players receive their monthly salaries and allowances simply because they come to training.No competitive football apart from friendlies here and there.I strongly feel that the Namibia Premier League (NPL) should get out of the closet and act.Club chairpersons through the Board of Governors of the NPL have remained silent for far too long and they don’t realise that their teams are being directly affected by this.Until when is NPL chairman Anton van Wyk and his men going to have the attitude of wait and see? The game is slowly going to the dogs, gentlemen.The NPL will be no more if the NFA keeps on messing up with your members.There were talks that the game will move into a semi-professional mode this season, but with instability currently reigning in Namibian football, will that goal ever be achieved? * On a sad note, this coloumn is a tribute to our friend and colleague in the trade Nelson Tjerije, who sadly passed away last weekend after a short illness.My his soul rest in eternal peace and may the Lord give his family all the stregth through these trying times.Go well my friend, we will miss you.Damaseb, with a broad smile on his face, promised that there wouldn’t be any excuses from the NFA, as they intend to bring football back on track.”We must deliver,” he said in front of key business and political figures before he received the N$40 million sponsorship cheque from the Namibia Football Consortium.This he also said live on national television.This will sadly not become a reality soon, but is a slap in the face of many who thought that football will be taken to new heights as a lot of money has been invested in the game.Mind the sponsors in this regard.Well, Damaseb then also said that he has never had sleepless nights about Namibian football, as he was convinced that everything was right on track.”Football will start soon,” he said.That statement is in direct contradiction with the current state of affairs in the game.How soon is soon? First it was on October 21, now the date has been shifted to November 5.It will not be surprising if all football activities are put on hold because of these ongoing squabbles.Further, Damaseb said that the NFA will respect the commercial interest of the sponsors, and knowing that they are responsible corporate citizens, they are not in there for charity.Now, the interests of the sponsors are not only to benefit commercially through their investment, but they genuinely want to be associated with the biggest and most progressive sport in the country.Football in the past few years has rapidly been moving away from that status and it only remains to be seen how the association can convince the consortium that they mean business and the three companies will get value for their money.The consortium consists of Mobile Telecommunications Limited, First National Bank (FNB) and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL).They have invested N$40 million in football for the next five years, with an estimated N$8 million to be pumped into the game on a yearly basis.Well, although the NFA insists that it will push ahead with the premier league playoffs, Life Fighters and Benfica argue that they were treated unfairly when it decided to involve them in a first round of playoffs.While the first round of playoffs got underway on Wednesday night, the NFA will now have handle the consequences of its actions, as Life Fighters and Benfica want to challenge the body in court.The whole situation has become an embarrassment for the NFA as teams detected loopholes after the association announced that there should be two rounds of playoffs before two teams are promoted to the premiership.These loopholes unfortunately have serious repercussions for the advancement of the game on the premier league level.The NFA has failed to demonstrate its power by not allowing any team to come out as rebels against their decisions.Despite their threats that the decisions they have taken are “final, irreversible and binding”, these teams are still pushing for their voices to be heard.No matter what happens after the playoffs, Namibian football authorities will have no choice but to deal with the lawyers of these teams and this means that the game will be stuck in its tracks…just where it is now.It is a shame that the domestic league has not started yet.This has actually put a lot of pressure on the budgets of premi
ership teams that are paying their players.At the moment, players receive their monthly salaries and allowances simply because they come to training.No competitive football apart from friendlies here and there.I strongly feel that the Namibia Premier League (NPL) should get out of the closet and act.Club chairpersons through the Board of Governors of the NPL have remained silent for far too long and they don’t realise that their teams are being directly affected by this.Until when is NPL chairman Anton van Wyk and his men going to have the attitude of wait and see? The game is slowly going to the dogs, gentlemen.The NPL will be no more if the NFA keeps on messing up with your members.There were talks that the game will move into a semi-professional mode this season, but with instability currently reigning in Namibian football, will that goal ever be achieved? * On a sad note, this coloumn is a tribute to our friend and colleague in the trade Nelson Tjerije, who sadly passed away last weekend after a short illness.My his soul rest in eternal peace and may the Lord give his family all the stregth through these trying times.Go well my friend, we will miss you.