From the sidelines with Corry Ihuhua

NAMIBIAN football will for sure make its way further down the Fifa rankings if there are no international matches, be it friendlies or competitions.

At this stage, Namibia occupies a shameful 159th position and the chances are increasing every month that the country might soon drop to 200 out of a total of 205 football associations recognised by Fifa. The biggest problem is the inactivity of the national team, which last played a competitive match in April this year.It is now three months down the line since that engagement against Botswana in a Cosafa Castle Cup match in Windhoek.The point is, in order to score points on the Fifa rankings, a country needs to play Fifa-recognised matches on a regular basis in an effort to improve its position.International friendlies count a lot, as long as they are held on dates designated by Fifa, be it on a weekend or a weekday.Namibia looks destined for racing down further in the rankings over the next few months, provided there is nothing in the offing for the Brave Warriors.Now, the other side of the coin is money involved in organising these matches for a country to at least be competitive on the international front.Football in Namibia has over the years been characterised by a lack of funds, but what makes it even worse is the poor administration from the authorities in charge of the game.One would understand if there is not enough money, but if efforts are being made to secure the funds for this purpose, it could even be better.The question of the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC), which has committed itself to football, immediately comes to mind.Is the NFC, which consists of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), First National Bank (FNB) and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL), also looking at the question of improving Namibian football on the rankings? Although they have really helped Namibian football reach certain standards as they pumped in money over the past five years in especially domestic football, what lies beyond that? Do they foresee a national team that prospers over the years or are they interested to reap the benefits (mileage) despite the poor performance of the national teams? I think it must be the ultimate goal of the NFC to see prospering national teams as they would be expected to dish out handsome amounts into this game each year.It will, in all honesty be unfair to put money where your mouth is, especially in football and get zero results at national team level time and again.The NFC has committed itself to a N$40 million sponsorship to Namibian football over the next five years, but what is in store for the game in this? Yes, they need the mileage for their products, but as part of their commitment to uplift the game, it will be advisable to look further than that – winning national teams.I understand that the NFC expects a well-organised approach from the football authorities on how this N$40 million should be spent each year.But they primarily want to have a bigger say in it as well.It will be fantastic if the NFC has a bigger say in it, but they should make sure that the national teams are well funded to produce results that can lift them up on the rankings, instead of heading downward.Namibia as a country, has signed a lot of bilateral agreements with other countries, and these relations can also be used on the sport front, possibly through the Namibia Sport Commission (NSC) to get countries to play friendlies here on shared costs.Political will from leaders in Government can also secure such deals, it all depends on the football authorities to make their plight heard.The NFC also intends to concentrate on developing the game on grassroots level, a laudable exercise in the absence of proper structures countrywide.But this should be done in such a manner that there is consistency throughout the ranks.It will be good to see that the newly appointed technical director, Seth Boois, makes sure that proper structures are put in place to make it easier for sponsors to know where to put their money.One should look at a development programme which will have continuity, instead of a once off or stop-start type of activity.Otherwise it is a waste of money.The NFC and other potential sponsors hold the key to Namibia doing well internationally, provided there are sound administrative systems in place that are geared to totally take the game higher up in the rankings.The biggest problem is the inactivity of the national team, which last played a competitive match in April this year.It is now three months down the line since that engagement against Botswana in a Cosafa Castle Cup match in Windhoek.The point is, in order to score points on the Fifa rankings, a country needs to play Fifa-recognised matches on a regular basis in an effort to improve its position.International friendlies count a lot, as long as they are held on dates designated by Fifa, be it on a weekend or a weekday.Namibia looks destined for racing down further in the rankings over the next few months, provided there is nothing in the offing for the Brave Warriors.Now, the other side of the coin is money involved in organising these matches for a country to at least be competitive on the international front.Football in Namibia has over the years been characterised by a lack of funds, but what makes it even worse is the poor administration from the authorities in charge of the game.One would understand if there is not enough money, but if efforts are being made to secure the funds for this purpose, it could even be better.The question of the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC), which has committed itself to football, immediately comes to mind.Is the NFC, which consists of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), First National Bank (FNB) and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL), also looking at the question of improving Namibian football on the rankings? Although they have really helped Namibian football reach certain standards as they pumped in money over the past five years in especially domestic football, what lies beyond that? Do they foresee a national team that prospers over the years or are they interested to reap the benefits (mileage) despite the poor performance of the national teams? I think it must be the ultimate goal of the NFC to see prospering national teams as they would be expected to dish out handsome amounts into this game each year.It will, in all honesty be unfair to put money where your mouth is, especially in football and get zero results at national team level time and again.The NFC has committed itself to a N$40 million sponsorship to Namibian football over the next five years, but what is in store for the game in this? Yes, they need the mileage for their products, but as part of their commitment to uplift the game, it will be advisable to look further than that – winning national teams.I understand that the NFC expects a well-organised approach from the football authorities on how this N$40 million should be spent each year.But they primarily want to have a bigger say in it as well.It will be fantastic if the NFC has a bigger say in it, but they should make sure that the national teams are well funded to produce results that can lift them up on the rankings, instead of heading downward.Namibia as a country, has signed a lot of bilateral agreements with other countries, and these relations can also be used on the sport front, possibly through the Namibia Sport Commission (NSC) to get countries to play friendlies here on shared costs.Political will from leaders in Government can also secure such deals, it all depends on the football authorities to make their plight heard. The NFC also intends to concentrate on developing the game on grassroots level, a laudable exercise in the absence of proper structures countrywide.But this should be done in such a manner that there is consistency throughout the ranks.It will be good to see that the newly appointed technical director, Seth Boois, makes sure that proper structures are put in place to make it easier for sponsors to know where to put their money.One should look at a development programme which will have continuity, instead of a once off or stop-start type of activity.Otherwise it is a waste of money.The NFC and other potential sponsors hold the key to Namibia doing well internationally, provided there are sound administrative systems in place that are geared to totally take the game higher up in the rankings.