From the Sidelines: Bester had one choice

THE saga surrounding the whereabouts of Brave Warriors midfielder Rudolph Bester, who is said to have skipped camp and sneaked out to Serbia for trials, is one of those classic tales in football.

There are two sides to this story, possibly the first of its kind in Namibian football, but justified. First, there is Bester, who comes from a poor background but has great football talent, as he has demonstrated over the years.Secondly, football bosses flexing muscles to show that they are in charge and that players belong to them.Okay, some might say I have taken sides already by the above-mentioned statement.You are right, I did.I support the careers of talented players to be furthered through crossing borders and making a living for themselves as professionals.I do not support football officials who strictly enforce their power at will without looking into the merit of a case, but just dismissing it.The background is: Bester has been a national team player for a few years now and he has proven to be one of the best talents in recent years.He has kept his team Eleven Arrows in the premiership for several seasons by scoring goals that matter.He has won various awards while growing up playing football in Otjiwarongo, where he attended school and where his parents live.Humble as he is, he represented Namibia on the senior level with distinction and last year scooped the Player of the Year award which was awarded to him by the same Namibia Football Association (NFA) that tried to stop his overseas move.He was also voted as the Player of the Year by NPL coaches in the Namibia Sport magazine.There are many other positive things that can be said about this 24-year-old player, as he is one of the few who do not do alcohol or drugs.He has five sisters and he is the second eldest.At one stage he said all of them are following his career and are proud of his achievements, despite him and his mother not having all the benefits of a good life, like some of the football bosses.The man basically has a family to take care of, considering the fact that his mother has been living in a poor settlement at Otjiwarongo.Now, with all this in mind, Bester has been presented with a golden opportunity to become another Namibian professional footballer when he attends trials in Serbia.Despite a request by the Eleven Arrows team officials to excuse Bester from national duty, they got a slap in the face that there is no way for his release because the association had already paid for a plane ticket and camp fees for him.I don’t even want to go into that issue because it seriously does not warrant anyone to stop a career move by a promising player.Technically, Bester left the country without the blessing of the association, but he had no choice as he was left to wait until the last minute, despite requests for his release earlier in the week.That was an opportunity he could not miss and even the football bosses, players, coaches, officials and supporters know that these things only come around once in a while in the competitive world of footballers.The NFA and Tim Isaacs or whoever else has been trying to stop the move were extremely unsympathetic to the plight of the Arrows officials, who asked in time for the release of the player.Even Warriors coach Ben Bamfuchile gave the player the green light to go, because he knows what it means for him and the country.Bamfuchile said he had no problem because there are other players who can be included in the side to fill that gap.Bester is not the end of the Warriors or is he? The excuse by the NFA that the match is an international friendly according to the Fifa calendar is nonsense.That has nothing to do with players being left out or included in a team.Unfortunately there is no other excuse in case the NFA still tries to justify its position.In future, the NFA should give players a chance to advance their careers as it doesn’t own them.It is only good for the country to have professional players out there.Be fair, frank and consistent in future.First, there is Bester, who comes from a poor background but has great football talent, as he has demonstrated over the years.Secondly, football bosses flexing muscles to show that they are in charge and that players belong to them.Okay, some might say I have taken sides already by the above-mentioned statement.You are right, I did.I support the careers of talented players to be furthered through crossing borders and making a living for themselves as professionals.I do not support football officials who strictly enforce their power at will without looking into the merit of a case, but just dismissing it.The background is: Bester has been a national team player for a few years now and he has proven to be one of the best talents in recent years.He has kept his team Eleven Arrows in the premiership for several seasons by scoring goals that matter.He has won various awards while growing up playing football in Otjiwarongo, where he attended school and where his parents live.Humble as he is, he represented Namibia on the senior level with distinction and last year scooped the Player of the Year award which was awarded to him by the same Namibia Football Association (NFA) that tried to stop his overseas move.He was also voted as the Player of the Year by NPL coaches in the Namibia Sport magazine.There are many other positive things that can be said about this 24-year-old player, as he is one of the few who do not do alcohol or drugs.He has five sisters and he is the second eldest.At one stage he said all of them are following his career and are proud of his achievements, despite him and his mother not having all the benefits of a good life, like some of the football bosses.The man basically has a family to take care of, considering the fact that his mother has been living in a poor settlement at Otjiwarongo.Now, with all this in mind, Bester has been presented with a golden opportunity to become another Namibian professional footballer when he attends trials in Serbia.Despite a request by the Eleven Arrows team officials to excuse Bester from national duty, they got a slap in the face that there is no way for his release because the association had already paid for a plane ticket and camp fees for him.I don’t even want to go into that issue because it seriously does not warrant anyone to stop a career move by a promising player.Technically, Bester left the country without the blessing of the association, but he had no choice as he was left to wait until the last minute, despite requests for his release earlier in the week.That was an opportunity he could not miss and even the football bosses, players, coaches, officials and supporters know that these things only come around once in a while in the competitive world of footballers.The NFA and Tim Isaacs or whoever else has been trying to stop the move were extremely unsympathetic to the plight of the Arrows officials, who asked in time for the release of the player.Even Warriors coach Ben Bamfuchile gave the player the green light to go, because he knows what it means for him and the country.Bamfuchile said he had no problem because there are other players who can be included in the side to fill that gap.Bester is not the end of the Warriors or is he? The excuse by the NFA that the match is an international friendly according to the Fifa calendar is nonsense.That has nothing to do with players being left out or included in a team.Unfortunately there is no other excuse in case the NFA still tries to justify its position.In future, the NFA should give players a chance to advance their careers as it doesn’t own them.It is only good for the country to have professional players out there.Be fair, frank and consistent in future.