From the Sidelines

THE domestic football season look set to be delayed well into September as both the NFA Congress, promotion play-offs and the annual football awards are still to be conducted.

The reasons for this scenario is once again a clear indication that football administrators do not address important issues with the urgency that is needed. The dates for especially the congress and the football awards were determined, but administrators kept on shifting them time and again apparently due to financial reports that are still with the auditors.The congress was supposed to take place at the end of July, now the authorities reckon that the end of August will be ideal as all documentation will be in place then.At the same time, the date for the awards was also towards the end of July, now it has been thrown to the middle of August.The new date is now August 21 so they say.In the mix is also the promotion play-offs which needs to take place, with the proposed dates also being the end of August.To top it all, the dates for the Charity Cup (to be sponsored by First National Bank Holdings) that annually preceeds the kick-off of the league, are also not confirmed as final.The anticipated dates for this tournament which will be played by Black Africa and Blue Waters on a two leg-basis were early September, but now it has been moved to September 11 and 18.That still needs final confirmation.Year after year, the Namibian football season is dodged by delays, largely due to promotion and relegation play-offs that are not fairly concluded, or simply because the administrators fail to plan ahead.Now the question is, who is responsible for all these delays, is it the NFA itself or the sponsors who are basically providing the financial input for the game.It is now understood that there is a tussle between the sponsors and the NFA on especially the football award ceremony.The event officially sees the crowning of the league champions and all the other winners in the lower divisions including top goalscorers and other special awards.The sponsors argue that they only have N$149 000 earmarked for the event, while the NFA initially budgeted that at least N$1,3 million will be needed for this prestigious affair.Last year, the sponsors which consist of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) and the then Swabou, forked out close to N$200 000 for the event, which took place in the capital.Maybe this figure, which might be viewed as unrealistic by the sponsors, is holding up the ceremony to take place, or is there something more to that.Initially, football award ceremonies for league champions all over the world are held immediately after the end of each season, but Namibia has it the other way around, it rather serves as a season opener.Football administrators should really get serious about some of these issues.The clubs and the players at the moment are being kept at ransom because they keep their players in training, only to be told that the league will not start as planned.Clubs also spent a lot of money since some of them have to bring in players that are based outside the city for training on a daily basis, while some even go to the extent of having pre-season training outside the borders of the country, with the expectations that the league will kick off in time as they are ready for it.It is also not in the interest of football to have people in positions who cannot plan ahead and take concrete decisions in consultation with other parties, but rather go it the lone way.Some of the current football administrators, especially at the Secretariat, claim that they have their hands full with problems such as the leagues of the lower divisions which annually end in chaos.But they themselves have to take the blame, as they are not firm and consistent in running the game.These delays in the league to kick off and the undecided dates is currently the cause of concern, as it basically reflects the maladministration of people who have been put in charge.The authorities are talking about the grand plans of getting football in a supreme position by 2008, but with administrators who cannot even get the domestic season start and end smoothly, one wonders what these fantastic ambitions of furthering the game to other greater mean.The time is now that football administrators address the basic issues of football before looking at the bigger picture.The dates for especially the congress and the football awards were determined, but administrators kept on shifting them time and again apparently due to financial reports that are still with the auditors.The congress was supposed to take place at the end of July, now the authorities reckon that the end of August will be ideal as all documentation will be in place then.At the same time, the date for the awards was also towards the end of July, now it has been thrown to the middle of August.The new date is now August 21 so they say.In the mix is also the promotion play-offs which needs to take place, with the proposed dates also being the end of August.To top it all, the dates for the Charity Cup (to be sponsored by First National Bank Holdings) that annually preceeds the kick-off of the league, are also not confirmed as final. The anticipated dates for this tournament which will be played by Black Africa and Blue Waters on a two leg-basis were early September, but now it has been moved to September 11 and 18.That still needs final confirmation.Year after year, the Namibian football season is dodged by delays, largely due to promotion and relegation play-offs that are not fairly concluded, or simply because the administrators fail to plan ahead.Now the question is, who is responsible for all these delays, is it the NFA itself or the sponsors who are basically providing the financial input for the game.It is now understood that there is a tussle between the sponsors and the NFA on especially the football award ceremony.The event officially sees the crowning of the league champions and all the other winners in the lower divisions including top goalscorers and other special awards.The sponsors argue that they only have N$149 000 earmarked for the event, while the NFA initially budgeted that at least N$1,3 million will be needed for this prestigious affair.Last year, the sponsors which consist of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) and the then Swabou, forked out close to N$200 000 for the event, which took place in the capital.Maybe this figure, which might be viewed as unrealistic by the sponsors, is holding up the ceremony to take place, or is there something more to that.Initially, football award ceremonies for league champions all over the world are held immediately after the end of each season, but Namibia has it the other way around, it rather serves as a season opener.Football administrators should really get serious about some of these issues.The clubs and the players at the moment are being kept at ransom because they keep their players in training, only to be told that the league will not start as planned.Clubs also spent a lot of money since some of them have to bring in players that are based outside the city for training on a daily basis, while some even go to the extent of having pre-season training outside the borders of the country, with the expectations that the league will kick off in time as they are ready for it.It is also not in the interest of football to have people in positions who cannot plan ahead and take concrete decisions in consultation with other parties, but rather go it the lone way.Some of the current football administrators, especially at the Secretariat, claim that they have their hands full with problems such as the leagues of the lower divisions which annually end in chaos.But they themselves have to take the blame, as they are not firm and consistent in running the game.These delays in the league to kick off and the undecided dates is currently the cause of concern, as it basically reflects the maladministration of people who have been put in charge.The authorities are talking about the grand plans of getting football in a supreme position by 2008, but with administrators who cannot even get the domestic season start and end smoothly, one wonders what these fantastic ambitions of furthering the game to other greater mean.The time is now that football administrators address the basic issues of football before looking at the bigger picture.