From the Sidelines: Warriors money worries

IT once again beats my mind how the funds for the Brave Warriors have dried up way before they even completed their international assignments.

The question that immediately comes to mind is whether any provision was made for all the matches. Namibia still has to play Ethiopia in an African Nations Cup qualifier on September 8 and yet there are no funds for training camps, let alone an international match which was supposed to have been played on Wednesday.Was the budget allocation too small or did the authorities take it for granted that they will not use up all the funds before completing their matches? I wonder if there was a budget in place and if there was any, why is there no money for a friendly match, training camps and the Ethiopia match? Normally the Namibia Football Association (NFA) has a season calendar for the Brave Warriors and this was already available when the Nations Cup qualifiers were announced last year.The dates for the friendlies were already fixed by Fifa and it was just a question of finding the opposition.In my view, it is mortifying for the NFA, which is heavily backed by Government and the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC), to say that there are no funds.It appears that the national team has used up its budget of N$3,2 million from Government, but what provision was made if the authorities knew that the money would be gone before all the matches are completed for the national side? Funny enough, the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) now wants to know how the money was used up before all the matches were completed.I think it was an oversight which does not warrant any excuses and a slap in the face of players and a shame to football in general in the country.Football authorities have been claiming that they want to change the image of football for the better, but failing to make provision for funding towards the team to compete in international matches, is simply unacceptable.Of course money is a problem area in most codes, but the NFA, which has teamed up with the NFC in a five-year contract as their biggest financial muscle apart from Government, has failed to adequately address the money issue.The NFC has pumped in millions into football over the years, but I think this time it also reflects badly on their partnership with the NFA, as they ought to be of assistance to the national team too.Although the NFC makes a financial contribution to the national sides in general, the Brave Warriors should never be considered to be facing a financial crunch.The Government will of course bail out the team to fulfil their commitments, but it should be noted that proper planning should be done in view of how many matches to be played before a budget is put through.It may appear different from the side of the NFA in terms of their planning in regard to the Warriors, but from outside, we will point the fingers at them for failing to address the situation before it got late.The Warriors have less than two weeks to prepare for the Ethiopia clash, instead of the usual four to three weeks they ought to have for such matches.The delays in players to practice for these matches often contribute to poor results and this will be no different for the Ethiopia match.For me there should be never an excuse of funding when it comes to important matches such as the Nations Cup qualifiers.In this case, Namibia stands a chance to go to the 2008 finals of the tournament in Ghana if they win and provided the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fails to beat Libya.It is also unpleasant for national team players not to have an idea when they are expected back into camp.Some of these players have been asking questions if they would still be playing in their last match for the Nations Cup, a situation which the NFA did not address with the players.There is a need for proper planning and budgeting from the NFA side and it is also high time that a financial manager be appointed, to look into these matters, because at this stage no-one takes the blame for this disconcerting scenario.Namibia still has to play Ethiopia in an African Nations Cup qualifier on September 8 and yet there are no funds for training camps, let alone an international match which was supposed to have been played on Wednesday.Was the budget allocation too small or did the authorities take it for granted that they will not use up all the funds before completing their matches? I wonder if there was a budget in place and if there was any, why is there no money for a friendly match, training camps and the Ethiopia match? Normally the Namibia Football Association (NFA) has a season calendar for the Brave Warriors and this was already available when the Nations Cup qualifiers were announced last year.The dates for the friendlies were already fixed by Fifa and it was just a question of finding the opposition.In my view, it is mortifying for the NFA, which is heavily backed by Government and the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC), to say that there are no funds.It appears that the national team has used up its budget of N$3,2 million from Government, but what provision was made if the authorities knew that the money would be gone before all the matches are completed for the national side? Funny enough, the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) now wants to know how the money was used up before all the matches were completed.I think it was an oversight which does not warrant any excuses and a slap in the face of players and a shame to football in general in the country.Football authorities have been claiming that they want to change the image of football for the better, but failing to make provision for funding towards the team to compete in international matches, is simply unacceptable.Of course money is a problem area in most codes, but the NFA, which has teamed up with the NFC in a five-year contract as their biggest financial muscle apart from Government, has failed to adequately address the money issue.The NFC has pumped in millions into football over the years, but I think this time it also reflects badly on their partnership with the NFA, as they ought to be of assistance to the national team too.Although the NFC makes a financial contribution to the national sides in general, the Brave Warriors should never be considered to be facing a financial crunch.The Government will of course bail out the team to fulfil their commitments, but it should be noted that proper planning should be done in view of how many matches to be played before a budget is put through.It may appear different from the side of the NFA in terms of their planning in regard to the Warriors, but from outside, we will point the fingers at them for failing to address the situation before it got late.The Warriors have less than two weeks to prepare for the Ethiopia clash, instead of the usual four to three weeks they ought to have for such matches.The delays in players to practice for these matches often contribute to poor results and this will be no different for the Ethiopia match.For me there should be never an excuse of funding when it comes to important matches such as the Nations Cup qualifiers.In this case, Namibia stands a chance to go to the 2008 finals of the tournament in Ghana if they win and provided the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fails to beat Libya.It is also unpleasant for national team players not to have an idea when they are expected back into camp.Some of these players have been asking questions if they would still be playing in their last match for the Nations Cup, a situation which the NFA did not address with the players.There is a need for proper planning and budgeting from the NFA side and it is also high time that a financial manager be appointed, to look into these matters, because at this stage no-one takes the blame for this disconcerting scenario.