From the Sidelines

THE Namibia Football Consortium yesterday emphasised the importance of youth development when it launched the 2007/2006 football season in collaboration with the Namibia Football Association and the Namibia Premier League.

Despite the N$8 million that has been poured into football for two years running now, it is important for the football authorities to set their priorities right. Acting managing director of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) Bisey Uirab yesterday said that youth development structures were non-existent.He said the NFC was not happy with the efforts by the football authorities in addressing this important aspect of the game and wants more efforts put into this.I agree with this sentiment because I can rightly confess that there is nothing like youth football development in Namibia from the mother body’s side.Absolutely nothing.The question of money is always cited as the main reason for not having this, but I think it is not true.Firstly, in the N$8 million that is being given by the NFA, there is a budget for youth development.It is not known how much that is at this stage, but what happens to this money? I understand from reliable sources within the consortium that the NFA constantly spends money that is allocated for a specific project on some other activities.There was money allocated for the development of youth structures last year, but there is no visible programme in place.This tendency is not new to Namibian football and it is high time that football authorities start spending money on the intended purposes.The reason why there is no youth development programme on national football level is testimony that no planning is done.Technical director Seth Boois has proposed a plan for establishing youth development structures in the regions that is currently gathering dust at Soccer House.Youth development does not only mean the under-17, under-20 and under-23 teams, but the budding footballers at the lowest level, which is the school level.There is a coach for the under-15s in place, but no one knows whether he has a pool of players that are being prepared to go through the ranks.Yesterday, the consortium dished out a further N$8 million for the new season and this money also needs to address other critical areas in the game such as administration, prize monies for teams and start-up capital for the clubs.But this time, the football authorities should declare how much money will be spent on youth development and how it will be spent.People want to see a visible and workable development strategy, how it should work and what the results would be.Furthermore, it is also imperative for the sponsors to tighten the screws on the way in which the NFA recklessly spends money that has been budgeted for certain activities.Diverting funds from one project to another is unacceptable and it is high time for the consortium to take a stand on this and scrutinise the NFA’s expenses.As the biggest sponsor of the game, the consortium has the right to see that money is spent for the intended purposes and most importantly, that it is accounted for.When the season starts, there should be no excuses that there is no money for a particular activity.The lack of proper budgeting for competitions, unnecessary expenses such as a booking a large delegation from one office in hotels and renting of vehicles at exorbitant prices, are some of the things that are financially draining.Officials at Soccer House should realise that the bread-and-butter issues (in the words of Uirab) are a thing of the past if we don’t want to go back to the situation we found ourselves in recent months.Concentrate on the improvement of the game at all levels.This also goes for league officials and clubs who should have a common goal to make Namibian football something to be proud of.The league is now set to start.Forget about the past and look forward to making the game as beautiful as you can.Acting managing director of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) Bisey Uirab yesterday said that youth development structures were non-existent.He said the NFC was not happy with the efforts by the football authorities in addressing this important aspect of the game and wants more efforts put into this.I agree with this sentiment because I can rightly confess that there is nothing like youth football development in Namibia from the mother body’s side.Absolutely nothing.The question of money is always cited as the main reason for not having this, but I think it is not true.Firstly, in the N$8 million that is being given by the NFA, there is a budget for youth development.It is not known how much that is at this stage, but what happens to this money? I understand from reliable sources within the consortium that the NFA constantly spends money that is allocated for a specific project on some other activities.There was money allocated for the development of youth structures last year, but there is no visible programme in place.This tendency is not new to Namibian football and it is high time that football authorities start spending money on the intended purposes.The reason why there is no youth development programme on national football level is testimony that no planning is done.Technical director Seth Boois has proposed a plan for establishing youth development structures in the regions that is currently gathering dust at Soccer House.Youth development does not only mean the under-17, under-20 and under-23 teams, but the budding footballers at the lowest level, which is the school level.There is a coach for the under-15s in place, but no one knows whether he has a pool of players that are being prepared to go through the ranks.Yesterday, the consortium dished out a further N$8 million for the new season and this money also needs to address other critical areas in the game such as administration, prize monies for teams and start-up capital for the clubs.But this time, the football authorities should declare how much money will be spent on youth development and how it will be spent.People want to see a visible and workable development strategy, how it should work and what the results would be.Furthermore, it is also imperative for the sponsors to tighten the screws on the way in which the NFA recklessly spends money that has been budgeted for certain activities.Diverting funds from one project to another is unacceptable and it is high time for the consortium to take a stand on this and scrutinise the NFA’s expenses.As the biggest sponsor of the game, the consortium has the right to see that money is spent for the intended purposes and most importantly, that it is accounted for.When the season starts, there should be no excuses that there is no money for a particular activity.The lack of proper budgeting for competitions, unnecessary expenses such as a booking a large delegation from one office in hotels and renting of vehicles at exorbitant prices, are some of the things that are financially draining.Officials at Soccer House should realise that the bread-and-butter issues (in the words of Uirab) are a thing of the past if we don’t want to go back to the situation we found ourselves in recent months.Concentrate on the improvement of the game at all levels.This also goes for league officials and clubs who should have a common goal to make Namibian football something to be proud of.The league is now set to start.Forget about the past and look forward to making the game as beautiful as you can.