BRAVE Warriors midfielder Quinton Jacobs has signed a lucrative two-and-a-half-year contract with Norwegian first division club Bryne FK.
Jacobs had been on trial with the club for the past week and sufficiently impressed them to sign him up. Jacobs’ manager, Collin April, told Namibia Sport that the club was very impressed with him and asked him to stay on in Norway so that he could be available once work-permit issues had been sorted out.”We are very excited about the contract.I made sure that Quinton will be well paid and that his family will be well looked after in future,” April said.April said that Bryne FC was currently in mid-table in the Norwegian First Division and hoped to be promoted to the Premier League at the end of the season.The team still has ten matches left to play.He added that Jacobs was determined to do well and keen to use the opportunity to further his career.”Quinton is determined to do well and hopes that this move will give him more exposure to some of the top Norwegian clubs.He realises that these opportunities only come around once in a while and is determined to make the best of it,” he said.April admitted that Jacobs had been undisciplined in the past, but said he had “learnt his lesson” and had now settled down.”He has messed up in the past and a lot of people warned me about him.But I organised his move to Ajax Cape Town and he did not disappoint me,” he said.”I talked to him for about an hour after we signed the Bryne contract, and he was very positive and determined to make use of this opportunity.He is very happy and sees it as the start of a new chapter,” April added.April has become the manager of several leading Namibian players who have joined foreign clubs in recent months.They include Athiel Mbaha, Hartman Toromba, Ephraim Tjihonge and Costa Khaiseb, who all joined South African Premier League side Black Leopards.April said he had built up a lot of contacts in Europe and South Africa and was keen to sign up more Namibian players for professional leagues abroad.”Bryne’s manager was very excited about Quinton and I believe this will open the way for more Namibians to go abroad for trials.I want to help expose our Namibian players and am willing to work with anyone.Quinton and I also want to thank Hendrik Dawids, chairman of Blue Waters Football Club, for the financial assistance in making this trip possible,” he said.April, however, recently ran foul of Civics president Helmut Scharnowski, who accused him of trying to steal Civics’ players.In a statement addressed to Namibia Football Association secretary general Alpheus Gawweseb on July 26, Scharnowski expressed concern regarding “so-called business managers or agents” approaching Civics players.”It came to our attention that a so-called business manager, Collin April, is taking contracted Civics players to South Africa to play trials without our consent.At no time did April or the players approach Civics and therefore April does not have a mandate to negotiate with South African clubs on our behalf,” the statement read.”We therefore call on your esteemed office to look into this matter as a matter of urgency, because it may become an issue of concern for other football clubs in Namibia.I wish to stress that we are not against any player to show his talent on foreign soil, but there are Fifa rules and regulations that cater for these types of scenarios, while April’s actions are also not in line with the Namibia Sport Act of 2003,” Scharnowski added.Namibia Sport established that April had earlier taken Civics striker William Chilufya and goalkeeper Zico Paulus for trials with South African clubs without the knowledge or consent of Civics.According to a source, April also tried to offer Civics midfielders Heini Isaacs and Rudi Louw an opportunity of trials with South African clubs.Civics, however, intervened and Isaacs and Louw, as well as Chilufya, are currently in Europe with Scharnowski, attending trials at various clubs in Germany and Denmark.namibiasport.com.naJacobs’ manager, Collin April, told Namibia Sport that the club was very impressed with him and asked him to stay on in Norway so that he could be available once work-permit issues had been sorted out.”We are very excited about the contract.I made sure that Quinton will be well paid and that his family will be well looked after in future,” April said.April said that Bryne FC was currently in mid-table in the Norwegian First Division and hoped to be promoted to the Premier League at the end of the season.The team still has ten matches left to play.He added that Jacobs was determined to do well and keen to use the opportunity to further his career.”Quinton is determined to do well and hopes that this move will give him more exposure to some of the top Norwegian clubs.He realises that these opportunities only come around once in a while and is determined to make the best of it,” he said.April admitted that Jacobs had been undisciplined in the past, but said he had “learnt his lesson” and had now settled down.”He has messed up in the past and a lot of people warned me about him.But I organised his move to Ajax Cape Town and he did not disappoint me,” he said.”I talked to him for about an hour after we signed the Bryne contract, and he was very positive and determined to make use of this opportunity.He is very happy and sees it as the start of a new chapter,” April added.April has become the manager of several leading Namibian players who have joined foreign clubs in recent months.They include Athiel Mbaha, Hartman Toromba, Ephraim Tjihonge and Costa Khaiseb, who all joined South African Premier League side Black Leopards.April said he had built up a lot of contacts in Europe and South Africa and was keen to sign up more Namibian players for professional leagues abroad.”Bryne’s manager was very excited about Quinton and I believe this will open the way for more Namibians to go abroad for trials.I want to help expose our Namibian players and am willing to work with anyone.Quinton and I also want to thank Hendrik Dawids, chairman of Blue Waters Football Club, for the financial assistance in making this trip possible,” he said.April, however, recently ran foul of Civics president Helmut Scharnowski, who accused him of trying to steal Civics’ players.In a statement addressed to Namibia Football Association secretary general Alpheus Gawweseb on July 26, Scharnowski expressed concern regarding “so-called business managers or agents” approaching Civics players.”It came to our attention that a so-called business manager, Collin April, is taking contracted Civics players to South Africa to play trials without our consent.At no time did April or the players approach Civics and therefore April does not have a mandate to negotiate with South African clubs on our behalf,” the statement read.”We therefore call on your esteemed office to look into this matter as a matter of urgency, because it may become an issue of concern for other football clubs in Namibia.I wish to stress that we are not against any player to show his talent on foreign soil, but there are Fifa rules and regulations that cater for these types of scenarios, while April’s actions are also not in line with the Namibia Sport Act of 2003,” Scharnowski added.Namibia Sport established that April had earlier taken Civics striker William Chilufya and goalkeeper Zico Paulus for trials with South African clubs without the knowledge or consent of Civics.According to a source, April also tried to offer Civics midfielders Heini Isaacs and Rudi Louw an opportunity of trials with South African clubs.Civics, however, intervened and Isaacs and Louw, as well as Chilufya, are currently in Europe with Scharnowski, attending trials at various clubs in Germany and Denmark.namibiasport.com.na
