League starts Oct

THE Namibia Premier League (NPL) will now kick-off in October, but not in the course of this month as anticipated.

The NPL had set September 3 as an initial date for the kick-off of the 2005/2006 domestic football season, but a top football official yesterday confirmed that it will ‘in all likelihood get underway in October only’ There is no specific date set for October. The root cause for the late-kick-off is caused by the protracted arbitration case between Life Fighters and the NPL which has now been referred to the Namibia Sport Commission for a decision.The case stem from a match between Life Fighters and Tigers which could not take place after match officials were not satisfied with the security arrangements at the Mokati Stadium in Otjiwarongo.They instead called the match off before it could start, arguing that their lives were in danger as there were not enough security guards to ensure safety for all on the day.NPL official, Tim Isaacs told The Namibian Sport yesterday that they hoped the case will be resolved soon, but was still convinced that the league will start next month.He said the play-offs which will determine two teams which need to join the current ten teams in the streamlined league have to be completed first.After that, the Humphries Security Division tournament, which will be played for the second time after it was called into life last year, also has to be completed.On top of that, Isaacs said the NPL also has to hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) where they have to officially put stamp to the newly promoted teams and other issues of the league before it gets underway.The current outstanding multi million agreement between the Namibia Football Association (NFA) and the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC) has to be completed before the ball gets rolling.The NFC have been the sole sponsors of football in the country for the past five years and were also served as the largest financial contributors to the league.Initially, the NFC has told the NFA to settle the arbitration case and complete the play-offs before it can commit itself to signing a N$40 million sponsorship agreement that will see them support football until 2010.The consortium consist of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), First National Bank (FNB) and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL).MTC will have a 50 percent stake in the sponsorship deal, with the other two companies having 25 percent each.NFC member, Mike Reilly of the NBL, yesterday told The Namibian Sport from Europe that: “Everything has to be sorted out and done correctly before both parties commit themselves to the signing of the agreement.”At the moment, it seem almost certain that the N$40 million deal will be clinched between the two parties, a move that will see at least N$8 million going into the game per year.The league was supposed to start earlier last month like in many other countries and according to Fifa regulations, but Namibia has been a culprit over the years as there are continuous unresolved cases which eventually forces it to start late in the year.Isaacs said despite the league starting in October, they will still aim at completing it by the end of May in 2006.He said they will shorten tournaments such as the NFA Cup and the MTC Cup to only two weekends, unlike in the past when it was played over three to four weekends.”We will minimise the duration of these competitions to have more time for the league matches,” he said.At this stage, some teams have already taken to the fields in preparation for the league kick-off for September, but they certainly have to wait a little bit longer.The root cause for the late-kick-off is caused by the protracted arbitration case between Life Fighters and the NPL which has now been referred to the Namibia Sport Commission for a decision.The case stem from a match between Life Fighters and Tigers which could not take place after match officials were not satisfied with the security arrangements at the Mokati Stadium in Otjiwarongo.They instead called the match off before it could start, arguing that their lives were in danger as there were not enough security guards to ensure safety for all on the day.NPL official, Tim Isaacs told The Namibian Sport yesterday that they hoped the case will be resolved soon, but was still convinced that the league will start next month.He said the play-offs which will determine two teams which need to join the current ten teams in the streamlined league have to be completed first.After that, the Humphries Security Division tournament, which will be played for the second time after it was called into life last year, also has to be completed.On top of that, Isaacs said the NPL also has to hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) where they have to officially put stamp to the newly promoted teams and other issues of the league before it gets underway.The current outstanding multi million agreement between the Namibia Football Association (NFA) and the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC) has to be completed before the ball gets rolling.The NFC have been the sole sponsors of football in the country for the past five years and were also served as the largest financial contributors to the league.Initially, the NFC has told the NFA to settle the arbitration case and complete the play-offs before it can commit itself to signing a N$40 million sponsorship agreement that will see them support football until 2010.The consortium consist of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), First National Bank (FNB) and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL).MTC will have a 50 percent stake in the sponsorship deal, with the other two companies having 25 percent each.NFC member, Mike Reilly of the NBL, yesterday told The Namibian Sport from Europe that: “Everything has to be sorted out and done correctly before both parties commit themselves to the signing of the agreement.”At the moment, it seem almost certain that the N$40 million deal will be clinched between the two parties, a move that will see at least N$8 million going into the game per year.The league was supposed to start earlier last month like in many other countries and according to Fifa regulations, but Namibia has been a culprit over the years as there are continuous unresolved cases which eventually forces it to start late in the year.Isaacs said despite the league starting in October, they will still aim at completing it by the end of May in 2006.He said they will shorten tournaments such as the NFA Cup and the MTC Cup to only two weekends, unlike in the past when it was played over three to four weekends.”We will minimise the duration of these competitions to have more time for the league matches,” he said.At this stage, some teams have already taken to the fields in preparation for the league kick-off for September, but they certainly have to wait a little bit longer.