From the Sidelines

THE recent appointment of Seth ‘Orlando’ Boois as the new technical director for Namibian football is key to the future development of the game in the country.

This man, who has been waiting for his chance to fill this position for a long, long time now, has an immense responsibility on his shoulders. Given the situation that Namibian football finds itself in, there is no time for taking chances.Boois has to devise a clear-cut direction to lift the game to a higher level.Although the Namibia Football Association (NFA) has developed a blueprint for the way forward, Boois will be required to add to that or develop new strategies to improve the standard of football overall.Boois, who took up his duties on Monday, should by now have identified his priorities for the wide-ranging job.For the next three years, Boois will be in charge of all football activities in the country according to his contract, but he should also remember that he would have to take the flak if there is no progress within that period.By next year this time, Boois should be able to tell himself that he had made progress in restoring some credibility to the game.Fifa officials will visit Namibia to monitor his progress and how far the game has improved in general.Although he has been intensely involved in local football, he cannot possibly achieve everything on his own; he will need the co-operation and support of all stakeholders in football.It will even be easier for him to surround himself with people who have the know-how and who can get the job done, instead of people who think only of how they can benefit financially.We have seen several football officials who have enriched themselves through the game, but have done little to take the game to further heights, especially after the 1998 African Nations Cup in Burkina Faso.The attendance of Namibian football fans at the recent match between a Dr Khumalo and Friends team against the former Brave Warriors should serve as an inspiration for Boois.He should be able to picture such an attendance when Namibia is involved in international matches in future.Boois has said that he will target youth development.This is a good starting point, as such a platform is non-existent.But before laying down a foundation for a youth development programme, the various football academies that are scattered all over the country need to be sorted out first.At this stage, there are no regulations or criteria for how these academies should be run.A well co-ordinated football development programme that covers the whole country will be advisable.Football development programmes will need coaches to put the children through their paces.Boois also has the responsibility of training these coaches and on this count, a lot of work lies ahead for him.The referees issue is another important aspect if Boois wants to see an improved domestic league that can deliver quality players to the national teams.The competence levels of the referees need to be evaluated continually and the more referees are involved in handling matches domestically, the better.Namibian football is now in a position where it cannot look back to the pre-Boois era.According to the local football authorities and Fifa, Boois should serve as a roadmap for Namibian football.He has to spearhead all football activities.It is entirely up to him how he achieves this, and the nation will not settle for second best.The football fraternity has for long been denied the opportunity to see the national team win matches at home.Frustration and anger rule, especially among the diehard Brave Warriors fans, when the team loses.This will hopefully turn into tears of joy and excitement within the next three years.If Boois can manage to instil a high degree of professionalism and a determination to succeed among the people working with him, the sky is the limit.So far, the current football administrators have not been too convincing in their efforts to make the necessary changes in football, and all eyes will be upon Boois to rectify this.He needs to get on with this now, because time is not on his side.For now, it would be wise to support Boois in his job and hope for the best.Given the situation that Namibian football finds itself in, there is no time for taking chances.Boois has to devise a clear-cut direction to lift the game to a higher level.Although the Namibia Football Association (NFA) has developed a blueprint for the way forward, Boois will be required to add to that or develop new strategies to improve the standard of football overall.Boois, who took up his duties on Monday, should by now have identified his priorities for the wide-ranging job.For the next three years, Boois will be in charge of all football activities in the country according to his contract, but he should also remember that he would have to take the flak if there is no progress within that period.By next year this time, Boois should be able to tell himself that he had made progress in restoring some credibility to the game.Fifa officials will visit Namibia to monitor his progress and how far the game has improved in general.Although he has been intensely involved in local football, he cannot possibly achieve everything on his own; he will need the co-operation and support of all stakeholders in football.It will even be easier for him to surround himself with people who have the know-how and who can get the job done, instead of people who think only of how they can benefit financially.We have seen several football officials who have enriched themselves through the game, but have done little to take the game to further heights, especially after the 1998 African Nations Cup in Burkina Faso.The attendance of Namibian football fans at the recent match between a Dr Khumalo and Friends team against the former Brave Warriors should serve as an inspiration for Boois.He should be able to picture such an attendance when Namibia is involved in international matches in future.Boois has said that he will target youth development.This is a good starting point, as such a platform is non-existent.But before laying down a foundation for a youth development programme, the various football academies that are scattered all over the country need to be sorted out first.At this stage, there are no regulations or criteria for how these academies should be run.A well co-ordinated football development programme that covers the whole country will be advisable.Football development programmes will need coaches to put the children through their paces.Boois also has the responsibility of training these coaches and on this count, a lot of work lies ahead for him.The referees issue is another important aspect if Boois wants to see an improved domestic league that can deliver quality players to the national teams.The competence levels of the referees need to be evaluated continually and the more referees are involved in handling matches domestically, the better.Namibian football is now in a position where it cannot look back to the pre-Boois era.According to the local football authorities and Fifa, Boois should serve as a roadmap for Namibian football.He has to spearhead all football activities.It is entirely up to him how he achieves this, and the nation will not settle for second best.The football fraternity has for long been denied the opportunity to see the national team win matches at home.Frustration and anger rule, especially among the diehard Brave Warriors fans, when the team loses.This will hopefully turn into tears of joy and excitement within the next three years.If Boois can manage to instil a high degree of professionalism and a determination to succeed among the people working with him, the sky is the limit.So far, the current football administrators have not been too convincing in their efforts to make the necessary changes in football, and all eyes will be upon Boois to rectify this.He needs to get on with this now, because time is not on his side.For now, it would be wise to support Boois in his job and hope for the best.