From the Sidelines: What about the grants?

THE Namibia Premier League (NPL) this week announced that teams will receive monthly grants, which will replace the old system of teams getting cash for their domestic obligations at the start of each season.

The grants are said to last for 10 months. The most important question is, are the teams comfortable with the new arrangement, because the tendency is that they accept what is given or sometimes forced upon them, only to complain when it is too late.I am not sure about consultations with the teams by the football bosses, which in this case will be the Namibia Football Association (NFA) and the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC).The NFA receives money from the NFC under their seven-year-old sponsorship deal and this money is then divided among the beneficiaries.The NFA and NFC both decide on the budgets of the various beneficiaries, which include the NPL, referees, development, cup competitions and so on, before allocations are made.Now, the grants.It does not sound like a bad idea, considering the fact that the football bosses have probably realised that teams finish their allocated start-up capital even before the league has reached the second round.This week, there was a report in this newspaper on second-division teams in the Hardap and Karas Regions which have not received their prize money from the NFA since July.The question is, if the NFA cannot even pay out prizes, which is a straightforward issue that is dealt with immediately after the NFA awards, what about the grants? I foresee problems with these grants, because this week in the Hardap/Karas report, acting secretary general Barry Rukoro said some of the people who had to sign the cheques were not available.In the end, it also turned out that the money intended for these winners was not there.This also brings up the question of whether these grants will be transferred electronically or whether the teams will receive cheques.There will be situations where some teams have to travel further distances from their home bases for matches.Will the grants to all the teams be the same or will it depend on who is playing where for the month? What exactly are the grants going to cover – transport, meals and accommodation of a team for a month? Many times club officials have been the main sources of funding to their teams as the start-up capital by the league normally runs dry after a few matches.So, in case officials use their own money, will they get refunds, or should we alternatively assume that the grant will cover all the expenses of the team during that specific month? Let’s assume that the allocated grant for the month runs out before the next one, will the team be penalised for it or what will be the solution? Who will be in charge of allocating these grants and what measures will be in place to ensure that none of the money set aside is used for something else ? There should also be an explanation on why the NFA decided on the grants.There was no explanation given and the club officials that I called seemed to be in the dark too.The NFA did not explain anything, neither did the NFC.Although the NFA has the sole mandate to negotiate with the NFC on money issues, I think it will in future also be fair to include some of the affected parties to state their positions.The NPL teams have complained about the start-up capital for some time, but their calls never reached the boardrooms in which these football bosses meet.The same also goes for the calls of referees and other areas of football that are affected by the current deal between the NFA and the NFC.There are so many negotiations between these two parties to come up with something good for the clubs, but the financial injection in my view has not been overwhelming into the premiership, compared to the mileage that these companies get from the game in general.The most important question is, are the teams comfortable with the new arrangement, because the tendency is that they accept what is given or sometimes forced upon them, only to complain when it is too late.I am not sure about consultations with the teams by the football bosses, which in this case will be the Namibia Football Association (NFA) and the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC).The NFA receives money from the NFC under their seven-year-old sponsorship deal and this money is then divided among the beneficiaries.The NFA and NFC both decide on the budgets of the various beneficiaries, which include the NPL, referees, development, cup competitions and so on, before allocations are made.Now, the grants.It does not sound like a bad idea, considering the fact that the football bosses have probably realised that teams finish their allocated start-up capital even before the league has reached the second round.This week, there was a report in this newspaper on second-division teams in the Hardap and Karas Regions which have not received their prize money from the NFA since July.The question is, if the NFA cannot even pay out prizes, which is a straightforward issue that is dealt with immediately after the NFA awards, what about the grants? I foresee problems with these grants, because this week in the Hardap/Karas report, acting secretary general Barry Rukoro said some of the people who had to sign the cheques were not available.In the end, it also turned out that the money intended for these winners was not there.This also brings up the question of whether these grants will be transferred electronically or whether the teams will receive cheques.There will be situations where some teams have to travel further distances from their home bases for matches.Will the grants to all the teams be the same or will it depend on who is playing where for the month? What exactly are the grants going to cover – transport, meals and accommodation of a team for a month? Many times club officials have been the main sources of funding to their teams as the start-up capital by the league normally runs dry after a few matches.So, in case officials use their own money, will they get refunds, or should we alternatively assume that the grant will cover all the expenses of the team during that specific month? Let’s assume that the allocated grant for the month runs out before the next one, will the team be penalised for it or what will be the solution? Who will be in charge of allocating these grants and what measures will be in place to ensure that none of the money set aside is used for something else ? There should also be an explanation on why the NFA decided on the grants.There was no explanation given and the club officials that I called seemed to be in the dark too.The NFA did not explain anything, neither did the NFC.Although the NFA has the sole mandate to negotiate with the NFC on money issues, I think it will in future also be fair to include some of the affected parties to state their positions.The NPL teams have complained about the start-up capital for some time, but their calls never reached the boardrooms in which these football bosses meet.The same also goes for the calls of referees and other areas of football that are affected by the current deal between the NFA and the NFC.There are so many negotiations between these two parties to come up with something good for the clubs, but the financial injection in my view has not been overwhelming into the premiership, compared to the mileage that these companies get from the game in general.